They Say
by guccileopard
Summary: She wasn't easily offended - and that was a very important personality trait when it came to dealing with Daryl Dixon.  A Daryl x OC romance, lots of show and original plots with all characters. Merle x 2nd OC.
1. Meetings

**Author's Note: Please bear with this huge AN - they won't always be this long but it involves some important info about the story and its timeline. :)**

**So my Dad and I started watching The Walking Dead a few days ago. We stayed up until 4 a.m. to finish the second season, and the next day spent the time before going to work catching up on the second season. I can officially say we're both hooked.**

**I've been going through some tough stuff in my life - a lot of stress and situations that everyone goes through but still, irregardless and for lack of a better word, suck. But what better way to let some of that stress out than channel it into writing? AND what makes it even better is that I have something so fantastic to write about! I know there are things in everyone's lives that make it stressful and awful and sometimes we just need something to distract us and I'm hoping this story will do that for people. I'm going to try and update once a week, hopefully more.**

*****So, about the timeline: This story begins in Season 2. Sophia has run away and Carl, though still hurt and in bed, has been given the drugs that Shane and poor Otis risked their lives to get. Everyone is settling in to life on Hershel's farm - though of course, Hershel is not so pleased. This particular story is composed of moments both from the show and of my own creation, and will be following along with Season 2. When Season 2 ends (D: NO!) I'll keep on writing so we can survive the gap between seasons. Haha! And who knows where we'll go from there!**

**Now, I know there are a bunch of Daryl x OC stories out there BUT this will include plot lines that involve many of the shows character's AND I'm going to try to be as original as possible when it comes to our main characters' relationship. I'm going to try my best to stay true to the behavior and actions of the characters as they are portrayed by their fabulous actors and actresses.**

**That being said, please feel free to PM me or email me about situations you'd like to see occuring in the story. Although I've got a certain idea of where I'm going there's nothing to say you can't ask me to stick a situation in which there is a zombie dressed like a clown roaming through camp in the story! If there's anything you want to see happen just leave a review and I'll work it in! This is everyone's story to enjoy, after all.**

**This story is rated T for: violence/gore, swearing, and sensuality. I'll put warnings up in front of each chapter that contains a lot of any of the above so anyone offended by such subject matter will know when to proceed with caution. **

**So, let's begin!**

**CHAPTER 1: Crossbows In Your Face Are No Fun**

The shuffling steps and labored moans of the geeks had been her alarm clock for, it seemed, years. She can't remember a morning in which she hadn't opened her eyes to a dark ceiling and the lingering, dusty smell of decay. Well, now that she thinks about it she remembers hating the sound of the alarm clock she used to have. With its jarring, incessent beeping it had usually sent her into a panic attack by merely performing its basic function.

She kind of missed it now though. It beat the zombies.

Sitting up she took stock of her surroundings. It had become a perfunctory waking-up ritual: make sure no geeks had somehow gotten into her space and were making their way to chew her face off. Everything appeared to be how she left it the night before. Her shotgun - a Remington tactical that she'd be loathe to part with after all the times it had saved her life - was lying against the makeshift nighttable and her Glock 31 was lying on top of the table. Both were essentials - the shotgun was great for close-range geeks with the pistol was amazing for a long distance shot. Her knife lay on the floor but that wasn't surprising - she typically passed out after a long day trying to survive and it took all she had to put her guns down securely before falling asleep. She couldn't be bothered so much with the knife.

Once she was sure she was alone she got up and searched the rest of the house. She wasn't sure who's place this was as she'd already traveled miles away from her hometown. But so many houses were vacant now she was sure the owners of this place wouldn't mind. If they were even alive.

She went back to the front room where she had slept as she made it a habit to stay only on the first floor of her safehouses - quicker to her exits that way. She stopped in front of the full length mirror and studied her reflection.

A girl with black hair stared back at her, her pale skin pulled taut over cheeks that had seen rapid weight loss as food became scarcer and scarcer. Despite the dropped pounds, she was still rather curvy, full through the hips and shoulders. She wasn't skinny, nor was she fat - she was average, but she didn't mind. Her sides dipped in to form a nice hourglass shape that she preferred to the stick-thin models that...well, that used to be in the magazines. They were probably rotting, infected with whatever those geeks outside had now. A few tattoos dotted her skin, symbols and words that held importance to her, and her two favorites: a large leopard crawling up her shoulder, life-like and beautifully colored, and a doe leaping gracefully over her left shoulder blade. She had saved up for them for weeks and didn't regret it to this day. Sometimes they gave her hope. Her eyes were the strangest thing about her: framed by thick, dark lashes; the two different-colored orbs often gave strangers pause. Or they had.

She didn't see people much anymore.

The left was a bright gold around the pupil fading into blue and then ringed by black. The right was the same bright gold but faded into green instead and ringed by black. They were, perhaps, her favorite part of body - just as unique as she was.

But no...somehow she forgot the other thing she loved. Her upper lip was bisected perfectly by a whitish-pink scar cutting diagonally across it's center. A dog had attacked her when she had been a little younger - she was 20 now - and it had left a little souvenir. Coupled with the much larger scar running from the right edge of her jaw to her shoulder blade an interesting picture arose of a girl with a tough edge but an underlying sweetness. Running her fingers over the larger scar she gave herself a little bracing smile.

Blinking she found tears in her eyes. Surprised and a little irritated she swiped at them and took a deep breath. She hadn't realized just how much she missed the company of other people, or even just the idea of other people. Thinking of the skinny models or the people who found her eyes strange made her miss civilization, even the ugly parts. She even missed the men who made sexist comments about her large breasts or the size of her butt or the shape of her mouth.

Okay - maybe she didn't miss those guys.

The sound of Kane's whines brought her back to her senses. The dog - a huge pitbull whom she had found roaming the streets - had followed her since the day she met him, and if she was being honest she truly needed the dog now. They had grown to be an amazing team in the past few weeks and Kane kept her alive just as much as she protected him. Cooing to him so he knew she was there she looked out the window and saw a relatively geek-free street. If she was going to move on she needed to do it now.

Shaking herself into action she began to pack up. She slid her knife into her boot and, making sure the safety was off, pushed her pistol into the waistband of her jeans. The shotgun she just carried. Sometimes it was a pain in the neck but it gave her peace of mind to know she could use it quickly and easily. Before leaving she rummaged through the cabinets for something to eat. Anything really - at this point she was less than picky. Finding nothing but a bag of chips that hadn't been opened she grimaced and started eating. Not the best fuel but better than nothing.

Slinging her backpack full of ammo, a couple medical supplies, and her favorite stuffed animal onto her back she peeked out the peephole on the door. Only a few geeks...if she didn't use her gun she could easily sneak past them and be on her merry way. Opening the front door and signaling to Kane she padded out and snuck down the street past the shuffling zombies.

* * *

><p>She had seen the signs along the highway -<p>

"Atlanta Not Safe"

"Atlanta Overrun - Move On"

"God Save Us"

"We Are All Going To Die"

Frowning she leaned down to scratch Kane's ears. He was tired and if she was being honest so was she. She couldn't keep up this pace and though they had made great distance in the past four hours - it was now 11 am - she needed to make serious time and find somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Somewhere few people would have been at the time the plague started so that she might have a chance of hiding from the millions of infected. It couldn't be too far from civilization - she'd need to make runs for medical supplies and ammo - but it couldn't be too close either.

The highway was overflowing with cars. She figured it was pressing her luck to find one that would run but if she could it might just give them the boost they needed to find somewhere safe before nightfall.

For the next half hour she went between cars stuck in silence on the highway. Most had the keys left in them - no point in bringing these along when you were suddenly a zombie. However, a majority had no gas or had been scavenged for parts by other survivors.

She was about to give up when she spotted a dark green Jeep 4x4. If that thing worked she'd be set - it'd be perfect for backroads and dirt trails that would lead her into seclusion. Snatching up the keys and pressing them into the ignition she whooped in exhiliaration as it came to life. Calling excitedly to Kane who hopped readily into the passenger seat she hit the gas and pulled off onto the shoulder of the highway.

They were flying.

* * *

><p>Two hours later she found a stretch of woods that seemed to go back for miles and miles. Taking the exit off the highway she followed backroads until she was dizzyingly lost. However it also brought her to a section of dirt road that she took without hestiation. She supposed to the point was to get lost - geeks wouldn't be in abundance somewhere that few people lived after all.<p>

Another hour and she was still on that unpaved road, deep in flat fields that stretched far, far out into the border of the woods. It was two o'clock now, and she knew she needed to find somewhere to hunker down for the night AND find some food for her and Kane before the sun set too far and the geeks got restless. Another fifteen minutes passed when she drove past a house. It was large, gray, and decrepit but seemed like heaven in that moment. Keeping the Jeep on the road she turned it off and pocketed the keys. Slinging her backpack onto her shoulder and making sure she had all her weapons she roused Kane and made her way quietly up to the house.

It didn't take her long to make a sweep of the premises and, finding it vacant, set up her stuff in the main bedroom on the first floor. Once everything was hidden in the closet besides her weapons she whistled to Kane and smiled. They'd go hunting now - Kane's favorite! The dog bounded goofily down the front steps, leaping off into the woods. Rolling her eyes she followed the Pit inside.

* * *

><p>Another hour later, keeping to the stream they'd found so she'd know how to get back, Kane had bagged two squirrels and a rabbit. Perhaps in most circumstances she wouldn't have been content to eat something a dog had grabbed in its jaws. But this was the zombie apocalypse - she could hardly afford to be peckish! Besides, the heat of the fire would kill most everything that'd hurt her. At least she hoped so.<p>

She smiled as he placed the rabbit in her hand, wagging his tail and waiting for the praise he always recieved after finding food. But just as she opened her mouth to tell him how amazing he was a quiet SNAP! met their ears. It had been just loud enough to notice and she narrowed her eyes. Scanning the surrounding woods failed to reveal any movement and she was suddenly very nervous.

Leaves rustled ahead to the right and she immediately snapped her hand to her waist for the Glock. Before her fingers could wrap around the smooth polymer though a man whipped out from the cover of the dense leaves. He held a crossbow at his shoulder and the ease with which he held the rather heavy weapon in his hand told of an expertise with said bow that she didn't think would be wise to mess with. Dropping the squirrels and rabbits she threw her hands in the air and backed up a step. Kane growled menacingly in the back of his throat but a quick "shh!" in his direction had him standing obediently at her side.

Watching the dog intently the man took a few steps forward, his bow still pointed at her head. He seemed slightly relieved that she wasn't a Walker but all the same - she had a fair bit of firepower so he didn't lower his bow.

"Who are you?" he asked, a clear Southern accent ringing in the air. It was husky and menacing.

"Mercedes. Mercedes Connelly," she answered, keeping her hands up in the air. If he hadn't been holding a weapon capable of shooting a projectile through her brain at almost point blank range she might have mentioned that she knew it was a rather interesting name. Her parents had a sick sense of humor it would seem. But it didn't seem like the best time.

"What you doin' out here?" he queried again, not missing a beat. She couldn't help but notice the string of squirrels slung over his back. What she wouldn't give to catch that many squirrels at once!

"Same thing as you I expect - hunting," she replied, nodding her head in the direction of his squirrels.

He nodded and lowered his crossbow, though he didn't take his eyes off her hands as she lowered them. If she went for her guns he'd be ready to put an arrow in her head.

"And who are you?" she asked.

"Daryl Dixon," he answered. She waited for more but none came.

"Well, it's nice to see another human. Well, one that isn't...you know..." she said awkwardly.

"Uh-huh," he fairly grunted. It seems they had both lost their social graces somewhere along the way.

Kane, who had sat down on his haunches when Daryl lowered his crossbow, was wiggling and dancing in excitement. Giving a small smile she nodded her head in the direction of the man and Kane bounded towards him with an expression that could only be called ecstasy. Kane was a true representation of the breed - loving and loyal, he'd be anybody's friend for a few pats and a kind word. Daryl, for his part, kneeled down and stroked the dog's head, scratching behind his ear's when the dog's huge skull tilted in enjoyment.

"That's Kane," she supplied.

"Cool dog," Daryl answered.

She was starting to really feel the awkwardness hanging in the air. The man seemed far away and she used the minute or two to study him. He was tall with a rugged face and sandy blond hair. He was dirty but so was she - it was just the way things were now. His eyes were calculating and quick and she noticed an assortment of weapons slung at his waist besides the crossbow he seemed so proficient with. It was his arms that kept drawing her eyes though...

Damnit Mercedes, pay attention.

"So, is it just you out here?" she prompted, hoping to strike up a conversation that would last more than seven seconds.

"Nah, with a bunch of others. Just settled down here - last camp got overrun by geeks," he answered, grimacing. Mercedes, however, was thrilled.

"There are more of you!" she cried, though not too loud in case any zombies were ambling by in the woods. It was strange how survival had become second nature.

"Yeah. You could come back with me I guess," he shrugged. Ignoring the less than enthusiastic invitation, she smiled.

"That'd be..amazing. Except I left my stuff back at this house," she said, pointing in the general direction of the shack. "Would you mind going with me to get it and we can go back? I think there's some food and stuff in their so maybe we could grab it and bring it back to everyone."

Daryl nodded. He had shot enough squirrels to make a decent meal for everyone and maybe if there was this food Mercedes was talking about they could really have a feast tonight. Everyone needed something to look forward to, even if it was canned beans and gamey squirrel meat.

* * *

><p>Daryl didn't quite know what to make of the woman. She was pretty damn happy for being in the middle of hell. Usually those overly happy, optimistic people were the first to die but she seemed to have managed well up until now. Then again, he'd yet to see her use those firearms. She could have been skating by on pure, enthusiastic luck so far.<p>

When he had been petting Kane he acted nonchalant, as if extending the invitation was more out of duty than real concern. It was a habit born of the force of Merle's personality, the notion that only his brother would ever care about him, and therefore caring about other's was pointless. No matter what the rest of the camp thought of him Daryl was a good guy. No one ever got close enough to see it though. Maybe it was a little bit his fault though, he wasn't exactly the most social...

What the hell is he talking about, babbling and talking all this psychoanalysis shit in his head? Shaking himself he kept following her back, listening for the sounds of a threat and watching the dog bound around. It was the first canine he'd seen since the outbreak.

Surprisingly they weren't that far from where she had stowed her stuff and while she packed it up he looked around the room. Someone had lived here once, though it seemed like a long time ago. Dark stains tainted the walls and he couldn't help but wonder if it was blood or just time eating away at them.

"Done," he heard the girl say but was immediately distracted by the sound of a shuffling footstep down at the other end of the hallway. Putting his finger to his lips he nodded his head vigorously in the direction of the sound. She gave him a questioning, alarmed look but otherwise remained silent. Damn, at least she was more street smart than Andrea...that bitch was only getting more trigger-happy as the days passed.

But anyway.

Mercedes held her shotgun firmly in her hands and Daryl watched her nod at him. They rounded the corner together, crossbow and shotgun raised in preparation.

It was not one, but six geeks standing stupidly at the end of the hall. They were packed tightly together and turned their heads at the sound of prey.

"Shit," Daryl muttered and let an arrow fly into the head of the closest one. "I've only got five arrows," he intoned. He'd be able to get them back once all the geeks were dead but not before that.

"It's okay - they're so close together I should be able to get most of them in the front," Mercedes replied. It was strange how calmly they were talking as the zombies began to pick up speed in anticipation of a huge meal. Two people! How delicious!

He watched her take aim, the back of the gun pressing against her shoulder and her legs spread to absorb the recoil - he really had to ask her where she learned that - and pull the trigger. The heads of the three foremost zombies fell apart. Daryl, who already had his second arrow prepared, let it fly and take out the second to last zombie. He quickly reloaded and took out the last.

He heard Mercedes take in a breath and expell it forcefully. She didn't seem too shaken and he nodded in agreeance with her small expression of relief. He bent down and ripped the three arrows from their respective brains.

"I don't know about you, but I'd like to get going now," he muttered.

Mercedes nodded and they headed out the door towards camp.

* * *

><p>AN:<p>

_So, first chapter down! Next time: Daryl and Mercedes get back to camp and we get introduced to everyone. But as much as Mercedes likes Daryl, it doesn't seem anyone else thinks as much of him as she does. And we see the buddings of a relationship! ;) Please review - it feeds my addiction! 3_


	2. Introductions and Attacks

**Author's Note: This story is really just knocking around in my brain so here I am writing another chapter at 1:30 am! Thank you to everyone who has read the story or left a review I haven't read yet. I hope it lifted someone's sprits for a few minutes!**

**Also, about Daryl: I'm trying to write him as Norman Reedus, his actor, thinks of him. He has a tough exterior that he puts up to defend himself from Merle and the judgements of others, but deep down he's sweet and caring. And also, he mentioned him being played "virgin-ish", that if anyone ever tried to kiss him he'd be like "EEEEEEE!" We'll get the chance to see that played out soon enough. ;)**

**In this chapter: We get back to camp and meet everyone, tensions run high over Mercedes' precense, the delicate question of sleeping arrangements is discussed, and then CHAOS ENSUES! :D**

It wasn't until they got back to camp that they realized they hadn't even grabbed any of the aforementioned food. Daryl just shrugged when Mercedes let loose with an "Aw, hell!" that could have rivaled an irritated Merle. It made a little smile come to his lips to wonder what his brother would think of the woman he'd found in the woods.

He still hoped that his brother was alive despite his acerbic personality and believed one day he'd have the chance to hear Merle's opinion of Mercedes.

"It's alright, we know how to get back there. Whole property is mapped in grids so I'll know the general area," he said, surprised at his reaction to her being upset. He could almost hear Merle's disparaging comments now. _"Just tell her she's stupid for forgetting and have done with her brother. No use for a forgetful bitch."_ But Daryl couldn't do that. It wasn't in his nature (even though he'd never let his brother know that). Screwing up his face to look as if he thought she was stupid he continued walking.

Mercedes shot him a thankful smile despite his abrupt change in manner and called for Kane who'd started running around them happily with another squirrel in his mouth.

* * *

><p>Mercedes fidgeted nervously, picking at the bottom of her t-shirt as they walked into the edge of the camp. If the conversation with Daryl had been any indication, her conversational skills had drastically declined in the last two months. But then again he didn't seem the easiest guy to talk to.<p>

The period she was allowed to worry was mercifully short however. They soon approached a group that seemed to be in a state of exhaustion. She knew the feeling.

When they spotted Daryl she noticed that none of them were particularly enthusiastic about his successful return until they spotted the huge amount of food he had managed to procure. Yes, they were happy he was safe. But not overjoyed. She found it odd; he had been a little off-putting but not downright rude. Sure he was a little dirty, but so were they. Their looks when they noticed her walking behind him though shifted to mild consternation.

"This is Mercedes," he said simply, not bothering with introductions or the details of where he had found her as he plopped down onto a log and began preparing the squirrels. With a look of mildly panicked exasperation at him she waved awkwardly at the group. Saving her from any awkward opening lines though, Kane whirled into the circle with that same look of ecstasy he wore upon finding Daryl. Except this time his excitement was so great he couldn't stand still and his whole back end wiggled with the force of his tail wagging. Some looked taken aback by the massive pitbull and Mercedes could have rolled her eyes.

They saw people being murdered in front of them by monsters every day and yet this dog was scaring them? Really, his behavior was a little goofy to be menacing. She noticed a boy sporting short brown hair and lots of freckles eyeballing Kane with barely suppressed glee and she smiled.

"That's Kane," she said to the boy. "He's super friendly and he loves to play fetch."

The boy looked to his mother for permission. She looked warily at the massive, bulky dog. She was about to say no - after all, he really hadn't even finished healing and had just convinced his mother to let him sit with the others - when the brindle pitbull sidled up between Carl's legs and began licking under his chin, elicting peals of laughter from the boy. He had been denied so much happiness in his short life and Lori couldn't bring herself to say no when his smile was so wide. Nodding with a little reservation she watched the boy bound off a few yards and begin throwing a stick for the dog.

Mercedes, for her part, was incredibly happy that Kane was getting the attention he so deserved.

An older man with a white beard and a fisherman's hat was the first to speak into the awkward silence.

"My name's Dale. Seeing as Daryl doesn't find it important to tell you our names -" At this point Mercedes heard Daryl mutter something that she couldn't completely make out but definitely included the words "stupid" and "old" - "I'll introduce you."

"This here is Rick, kind of the leader of our little band," he said, pointing to a man wearing brown slacks and a light-brown top that looked a lot like a sheriff's uniform. He nodded and smiled at her and she returned the gesture.

"That there is his wife Lori. And you're already met Carl, their son," he said, gesturing to each of them in turn. She wasn't so sure she liked Lori who was watching her with distrust clear in her eyes. Carl however, was a pretty awesome kid. Anyone who liked Kane was alright in her book.

"Shane," he continued, pointing to a strong-featured man with close-cut hair and a piercing gaze. It wasn't mistrustful, but it wasn't happy either.

"And over here you have Glenn," pointing to a thin Asian boy she guessed to be around her own age who gave her a friendly smile, "Andrea -" he continued, gesturing to a blond woman who offered a wave, "T-Dog -" he said in reference to a built man with a bandage around his right forearm, "and, uh, Carol's in her RV," he finished awkwardly. The others looked at their laps and fidgeted at the mention of Carol. It didn't go unnoticed but Mercedes didn't think it prudent to ask just yet.

"You can sit here if you want," Andrea offered, patting the spot on the log next to her that Carl had vacated. Taking it thankfully Mercedes stretched her legs so her aching knees might get a rest.

"So, you any good with those things?" Shane asked, nodding his head towards her weapons.

"I'd say I'm pretty good," she answered, unwilling to get too cocky lest he put her to the test and in her anxiousness she'd fail miserably. Funny how blowing zombie's brains out seemed less stressful than being judged in front of the group she could potentially be attempting to live with. "My dad is a policeman, taught me how to handle them."

A smile formed on Rick's face at that admission.

"We're police too, Shane and I. Or at least we were, before all this happened," he finished, his enthusiasm dampening a bit. In an effort to reroute the mood Mercedes searched for another topic of conversation.

"I, uh, caught some squirrels and a rabbit earlier. I'll throw them in tonight. With the amount of squirrels Daryl caught we'll have enough to maybe actually go to bed with full stomachs tonight," she said.

"Thank you," Rick said. He looked geniunely relieved.

* * *

><p>A while later they were all digging into crispy squirrel, including Kane. He lay at Carl's feet munching noisily on his portion. No one seemed to mind him though - they were all too busy laughing. Glenn, who had at first seemed quiet and shy, was suddenly regaling them with tales of pizza deliveries gone awry. It seemed you met some strange people and entered some awkward situations in that particular line of work.<p>

"And when he turned around, the bathrobe had this wierd green stain on it -" he was going on, his face joyful in the memory.

"WHAT! EW!" Andrea cried. "I'm tryin' to eat here!"

Daryl seemed to be in his own world, watching and listening to the proceedings and often smiling at the funny bits, but not experiencing the same joy that everyone else was. Mercedes couldn't help but find her gaze returning to him though no one else really seemed to care about him.

The laughter was loud and raucous until a woman with very short, gray hair walked into the proceedings. It quickly became very quiet. The woman seemed overwhelmed by the mere act of walking, her eyes red-rimmed and bloodshot. She didn't even seem to notice the stranger among the group.

"I just came to see if there was any food," she questioned, her words trailing off quietly as if dying on her lips.

"Yes, of course," Dale said, quickly getting her a portion of the squirrel and handing it to her. She took it with a strained smile and carried it back to the RV with her.

The laughter didn't return. Everyone took small bites of their meal, seemingly lapsing into their thoughts at the woman's sudden appearance and disappearance.

"If you don't mind my asking, is there...what's going on?" Mercedes asked, trying to be tactful.

"When we were moving from our last camp we got caught up in geeks on the freeway. Her daughter, Sophia...she ran off to escape some of them, went into the woods. We couldn't find her, still haven't," she finished, looking at the mostly eaten squirrel on her plate and finding what was in her mouth turning to sawdust. "We're all just hoping we find her. We've been out here searching for a few days and haven't found a sign yet but we're still hoping."

Daryl was immediately agitated by the explanation.

"Yeah, damn fine job all that hopin' has done us. We'll find her, alright? It'd be nice if everyone else tried that zen thing I was talkin' about," he said, pushing himself off his knees and grabbing his crossbow. "I'm checkin' the border before I go to sleep," he finished, moving off.

The others looked after him and grimaced.

She didn't know if it was her genuinely helpful nature or a need to stay among them - probably a combonation of both - but she wanted to help find Sophia. She knew how scary it was to be out there alone even with you were armed and knew enough to keep yourself alive. The thought of being so young and so alone made her heart ache.

"I'd like to help find Sophia," she said quietly. Everyone stared at her, some with smiles and others with growing mistrust. The latter were Lori and Shane.

"Well, I guess that'd be expected of you if you're going to be staying with us," Rick answered. Mercedes tried to control her jaw dropping in surprise.

"I can..I can stay?"

"Of course you can. Did you think we were gonna throw you back to the geeks?" Rick said.

"I...no. I've just been alone so long that the idea of being around people seems amazing," she finished. The admission sounded sad but it was so true.

"Well, you're welcome among us. In the morning Shane and I can go over the grid with you and we can see if you're as decent as you say with those guns," Rick finished.

Taking it as a dismissal the rest of the group began to get up and move off to their respective sleeping places. Mercedes suddenly found herself feeling extremely awkward. Where was she supposed to sleep? In an effort to hide her confusion she whistled to Kane who gave Carl a good-night doggy-kiss - which got him a delighted pat on the head - and moved off towards the edge of camp so Kane could do his business before bed.

* * *

><p>After a few minutes of finding the perfect spot to pee Kane was finally ready to go to sleep. Mercedes waved to him and he quickly came to her side and trotted next to her as she walked back into camp. She still wasn't sure where she was sleeping...but maybe she could ask Daryl? Despite the looks everyone else shot him she felt most comfortable asking him.<p>

She wound her way through tents and firepits, Kane following behind and sniffing everything. She quickly realized a problem however - how was she supposed to ask Daryl where she was sleeping if she didn't know where Daryl slept? Coming to a stop she flicked her eyes over the camp. There was a large RV she already knew at least Carol slept in, several tents, a few unoccupied cars...and then she spotted it. A truck complete with a large motorcycle in its bed; it was one of those trucks that screamed "redneck" and Mercedes was willing to bet she could find Daryl somewhere around there.

She began picking her way through the camp when raised voices met her ears. Putting her hand up slow Kane up she walked as quietly as possible. She didn't want to eavesdrop - she had just gotten here and did NOT want to piss anyone off so early in the game - but it was difficult to miss.

"So it's one more person to protect? How many people are you going to let into this group Rick? The bigger we get the easier it is for geeks to find us! And how do you know she's going to be helpful? She could be an awful shot and then it'll just be one more person we have to look out for! We don't have the time for her -" a voice was ranting and Mercedes felt a combonation of anger and despair wash through her. They were already arguing about her? She thought the voice might be Shane's but she couldn't be sure - he hadn't said much, only gave her those wary glances as if she might be hiding a bite or something equally hateful.

"You didn't seem to have a problem when I showed up! Besides, it's not like we're taking on new people every day. She's the first person we've seen in weeks. How am I supposed to turn her away when she's all alone? Besides she's already shared her food with us and offered to help Sophia. We'll see if she's any good with weapons in the morning and if she's not she can help Carol with the laundry," she heard Rick say and instantly liked him even more.

And there was no way in hell she would be doing laundry.

Bolstering herself against Shane's barbed words she promised herself she would prove Rick right in the morning - she'd be helpful and earn a place among them.

But until then, she really needed some sleep. Daryl's truck was only a few feet away now. She made her way to the driver's side window thinking he might already have gone to sleep. She opened her mouth to start a question -

"What do you want?" he asked, sauntering around the side of the truck bed before she even had the chance to get the first word out. She felt a little silly now, mouth open in the beginnings of a sentence, staring into his truck. He was rubbing a damp cloth on his forehead in an attempt to get rid of some of the grime. She stared at the raised arm, watched the muscles writh as he attacked the dirt.

Mercedes, really?

"I, uh...I have no idea where to sleep," she said, clearing her throat in an attempt to make it less obvious that she had been gawking.

"And that's my problem?" he asked, giving up on the towel and throwing it in the bed of his truck.

"It will be if I'm tired tomorrow. I'm not fun to be around when I'm tired," she retorted truthfully.

"Yeah, I sure don't wanna deal with that, you're right," he answered, the hint of a smile on his face. "I guess you can sleep in my bed of trunk. Sleeping bag back there. I sleep in the cab," he said, nodding his head towards the front of the truck. She nodded, grateful to be out in the open. She liked the breeze in the stifling heat.

Without so much as a goodnight he crawled into the cabin and shut the door. Rolling her eyes Mercedes placed her weapons close enough to be in reach if she needed them quickly but not so close she'd accidently blow her head off in her sleep. Kane hopped up and sat down, waiting for her to snuggle on the sleeping bag so he could curl up next to her.

An odd thought struck her as she unzipped the bag however. The sliding window on the back of the cab was open and Mercedes stuck her head in.

"Hey - do you sleep in this thing?" she asked, referring to the sleeping bag.

"Sometimes, why? I promise I ain't got cooties or anything," he said, a snarky smile shot in her direction.

"Oh good, because I was totally worried about your cooties," she shot back, not bothering to explain that she asked because she felt bad taking it away from him. She rested her knees against the front wall of the truck bed and rest her arms against the rim of the window.

"Yeah?" Daryl asked, closing his eyes in exasperation. He hadn't actually been counting on conversation when he offered her a spot to sleep.

"Why are there two sleeping bags back here?" she asked innocently. Daryl's face hardened slightly at the question and Mercedes was immediately sorry she had asked.

"My brother used to be with us. Got left behind last time we tried to go to Atlanta," he said. He continued for another minute or so, explaining the entire situation with going back and looking for him only to find his hand to Mercedes. When he was finished she stared at him and shook her head.

"Then he could still be alive, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, he could be," he said, letting the thought trail off.

Mercedes, eager to keep the conversation on a happy track, switched gears.

"So, where are you from?"

"Mercedes," he began (and though she wouldn't admit it, random butterflies had a seizure in her stomach for reasons unknown at the sound of her name. She'd say it was because she hadn't heard another human say her name in weeks but truth be told it was probably more this particular human.) "When I said you could sleep in my truck that wasn't an invite to share our stories." Mercedes sighed and and plopped on her behind, still capable of seeing and hearing him through the window.

"Well excuse me for trying to make friends, Daryl," she retorted, biting the syllables in his name as a sarcastic use of his name as he had used hers.

"I'm from here, in Georgia," he answered, sighing. Merle would say it was going soft.

Surprisingly, this extended into a two-hour conversation in which they shared stupid stories about when they were kids, how Mercedes got to be so good with her guns, how Daryl got to be a master with the crossbow, about Merle and how stupid he could be sometimes, and many other topics that made absolutely no sense in relation to the beginning topic. Throughout it all Daryl missed no chance to make a snarky dig and Mercedes retorted smartly back. It was a fun challenge, each trying to out-do the other and yet knowing that neither was truly angry.

Maybe it was just the fact that she had been so desperate for human contact but she couldn't help but really like the man despite his rough edges.

"Alright, I really need to get some sleep. If you're done with the 20 Questions bit I'm gettin' some shut-eye," Daryl sniped.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Mr. Cranky Pants," Mercedes replied, sinking into the slightly smelly sleeping bag with a smile on her face.

Resting the back of his head on his hands and looking out the front windshield of his truck, Daryl would admit to himself that he liked her too. She was tough but she obviously felt some kind of nice feelings for him and it was more than could be said for everyone else in camp. For the first time since Merle had disappeared he fell asleep with a little bit of extra hope.

* * *

><p>"Daryl! DARYL! Daryl, wake up damn it!" The voice jarred through his dreams (which were suspiciously filled with leopards and pitbulls playing a game of fetch). It was panicked, scared even. "DARYL!" The last bellow thoroughly jarred him and he bolted up into a sitting position. Mercedes was out of the truck bed and at the driver's side door. She'd wrenched it open and had her hands on his shoulders to shake him awake.<p>

"Wha? What's going on?" he exclaimed, grabbing his crossbow from the floor next to him and hopping out of the truck.

"Walkers, twenty to twenty-five of them, running down the road. It's you, me, Shane, and Rick. Andrea said she's not good enough with her gun yet and they're coming fast!" she explained quickly and ran off in the direction of the attack. He ran after her, loading an arrow in the process. He saw the glock in Mercedes' hands and smiled. He wasn't particularly worried - he had faith in his crossbow and was more interested in seeing her proficiency at long-distance targeting.

They came to a brown fence bordering part of the driveway of the property and pressed up against it to help their accuracy. Kane, who had been barking and running the whole time the excitement was going on, sat obediently between Daryl and Mercedes.

"Twenty-three geeks, all moving fast. Hershel says they're all neighbors he recognizes from properties miles away -" Shane was explaining, motioning to the older man holding binoculars to his troubled face " - so if we can kill all of them we shouldn't have to worry too much about others."

They all nodded, checking their rounds and taking aim. They were still too far off to shoot but they were closing fast.

"Guess we get to see what you got when we're in the pinch, new girl," Daryl said, a slight jibe at Shane who was looking at Mercedes with thinly veiled incredulity.

She just smiled and pulled the gun up to her sights, resting her dominant hand in the palm of the non-dominant one and taking aim as the zombies came into her range.

Multiple shots rang out in the clear morning air as Rick, Shane, and Mercedes squeezed off their first bullets. Three zombies went down and Mercedes whooped happily. Rick smiled, but Shane was so far unconvinced. One kill meant nothing. Daryl was leaning up against the fence waiting for the zombies to get a little closer before letting his arrows fly. One minute later the three with guns had managed to pick off the majority. Only four left! They all squeezed their triggers again and took out three...and Rick took out the last. They were safe!

A scream tore through the air from the camp. Mercedes looked to Daryl but he was already running in the direction of the tents. She hoofed it to keep up with him, reloading as she ran with a few bullets she had stuffed in her pocket. When she caught up though she found Daryl sending an arrow through the head of a zombie leaning over Carol. One-handed, Mercedes sent a bullet tearing through the brain of a zombie heading towards Dale.

"Goddamnit!" she heard Daryl yell and turned around to find a Walker holding him from behind attempting to sink its teeth into Daryl's neck. Leaning down to whip her knife from her boot she ran over and approached from behind. With a scream of anger and adrenaline she sank the blade into the zombie's temple, feeling blood gush down her arm as it sank - finally dead - against her. Yanking the knife out she watched Daryl turn to her and widen his eyes at something behind her.

He raised his crossbow and she ducked, and without skipping a beat Daryl sent his last arrow towards the zombie who'd been approaching Mercedes from behind.

Letting out a huge gust of air as the world quieted, Mercedes stood back up. She checked herself over and noticed she was scratch-free and then watched as Rick and Shane assessed everyone else. Very shaken, but otherwise bite-free. The entire scuffle lasted no longer than five minutes but it had been draining. When she was sure everyone else was okay she walked to Daryl and put her hand on his arm, just above his elbow.

She forced herself to leave it there for a second - yanking it away would be admitting that she felt some kind of spark when her skin touched his.

"Thanks - for shooting that zombie behind me, I mean," she said, her voice still a little shakey from adrenaline.

"Yeah well, next time watch behind you," he said gruffly, trying to pretend her hand wasn't affecting him.

She could have said the same to him but in the moment she didn't feel like antagonizing him. Something had happened when she had unsheathed her knife. When she saw the teeth going for Daryl's neck she had felt the worst pang of fear she had known in weeks, even when trying to save her own ass. Sure, when she had seen the zombie leaning over Carol she had been terrified, unwilling to lose a new friend and wanting to keep her group safe. But with Daryl it was different.

It was ridiculous. She couldn't understand why the thought of losing a man she had not known for more than 24 hours could be so horrifying, but it was. She could talk to him, bullshit with him...she didn't understand it. But then again, it was like Glenn kept saying - you don't know if you're going to survive to see tomorrow.

Maybe everything just moved faster now.

* * *

><p>If she had said something Daryl might have been inclined to agree. When he had seen that zombie running towards her he felt a split second of the kind of panic he associated with losing Merle. What would he do if the only person in the entire camp who gave him the time of day died right in front of him? Because he could do nothing about it?<p>

Yeah, everything moved faster now.

* * *

><p>AN: <em>So yeah, woo! Thank you to my lovely reviewers Willow the Collie (who also wrote a wonderful WD story from the POV of the kids in this sitation, check it out), Silver Mirror, and Leyshla Gisel; you guys brought a smile to my face! I hope you enjoy this second installment and now that we've got all the introductions out of the way and Mercedes is up to speed on the situation we can really get to the meat!<em>

_I hope no one thinks this relationship is moving too fast. However, I was trying to look at it from the point of view of someone who really thinks they may die tomorrow and I think I'd cut through al the bullshit and be like "Yeah, I've got butterflies. I like you." if I was in an apocalypse. AND this is supposed to be an exploration of the show's plots with Mercedes involved so I wanted to get them set up fairly quickly. BESIDES, WHO DOESN'T LIKE TO PRETEND THEY ARE MERCEDES SO THEY CAN HANG OUT WITH DARYL? -wiggles eyebrows- I know I do._

_Also, I'm just pretending Merle and Daryl are from Georgia since the show doesn't really give them much of a backstory._

_My family and I are having Thanksgiving dinner tonight since every single one of us had to work all day on the real Thanksgiving. Then my Dad and I are gonna watch the last episode and I'm probably gonna start work on another chapter! Talk to you all soon._

_NEXT TIME: Daryl and Mercedes go out into the woods and there just might be some kissing. Maybe. -shifty eyes- :D_

_Review please - it feeds my addiction! 3_


	3. Unions

**Author's Note: So I'm fairly cranking these out, yeah? I have no idea why there is so much muse for this (besides the fact that if Daryl were real I would marry him in a heartbeat AND The Walking Dead is pretty much everything I love about cinema rolled into one show) but I'm going to keep on going!**

**Thank you to everyone who has favorited this story or added it to your alerts! It means a lot to me to know we're on this journey together! If you guys want to leave a review letting me know what you like and what you'd like to see done differently it'd really help me shape this story to be even better! Also, remember if you want to see anything specific happen just drop a review with a request for it to be included!**

**A quick, but important note! We're skipping a few days time - I'll explain what happens between the zombie attack and the present so we're not missing anything but the more I thought about it the more ridiculous it seemed that they'd get attached to each other so quickly. So, a few days pass for the romance to bud. OO LA LA!**

**I hope everyone enjoyed the midseason finale - I know I did! What an ending! A note though: if Carol and Daryl end up getting together we'll be ignoring that for the purposes of this fic. :) LET'S SURVIVE THE NEXT TWO WALKING DEAD-LESS MONTHS TOGETHER!**

**Also: WARNING! This chapter contains a fair bit of swearing. :P**

**Now, let's begin!**

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><p>Several days had passed since the small wave of zombies had attacked Hershel's property. That same day they had seperated into groups to scan the woods; Shane and Andrea took the riverbanks, combing them for any sign of Sophia; Rick went out on his own to check the perimeter of the woods in case Sophia had ever found the edge and tried to see anything from it, and Daryl and Mercedes had gone off into the thick of the woods.<p>

The whole time they tacked colorful pieces of fabric to trees every once in a while to lead Sophia home - for their ramshackle camp was home despite it's transitory state - and Mercedes tried to keep hope alive that they would find the little girl.

When they weren't out hunting Mercedes spent her time getting to know the others in the camp. Besides Daryl she thoroughly enjoyed the company of Glenn who seemed to have taken a shine to her. She spent late afternoons commiserating with him on the intricacies of men vs. women. She had only recently met the people who stayed with Hershel and confessed to Glenn that she understood Maggie about as much as he did - not much at all. Glenn had described the situation to her in detail - how she was nice one minute and mean the next - and she offered her advice and gave him bracing words to lean on. She resented Maggie a little for toying with someone as nice as Glenn.

Dale was also another companion she liked. He was caring and kind and always had something comforting to say if one needed to hear it. He also seemed to be much too observant for his own good. He kept dropping hints that he could see just how much Mercedes liked Daryl and she gave him a dangerous look whenever he brought it up that left him smiling and shaking his head.

Andrea and Mercedes got along fairly well but were both so hot-headed that their ideas often crossed paths.

Lori was still distrustful but had warmed a little when Mercedes left Kane at the camp during the day to protect everyone - the dog loved Carl and kept him busy long enough to get him out of Lori's hair. That counted for something in the mother's eyes at least.

But she spent a lot of her time with Daryl. Their conversations were often snarky but as they days passed they found themselves lapsing into more meaningful conversation. They talked about what they would have done if the world hadn't gone to shit, the first thing they'd do if this hell ever passed, the things that meant something to them and why. Mercedes opted to make her permanant headquarters in the bed of Daryl's truck. It hadn't rained yet so she hadn't been forced to come up with alternate shelter but she wasn't really concerned either. It was there that they talked the most, bullshitting as they both drifted off to sleep, unable to see each other as she lay in the bed and he in the cab, but comforted by the familiar sound of one another nonetheless.

Neither said what they were feeling.

* * *

><p>Dale woke that morning with an ache in his back. He was getting old and this freaking zombie apocalypse wasn't helping. After sidling out of his bed and stretching his arms up into the air he changed into his typical attire and smushed his hat onto his head. The RV door creaking open seemed to split the morning silence. He liked waking up before everyone else - it was one of the few truly peaceful moments left in this world.<p>

It seemed her wouldn't be allowed that particular luxury this morning.

"Yeah, yeah, you fuckin' hillbilly," he heard ring out over the air and he cringed. He knew that voice by now - Mercedes. What she was doing up this early was beyond him.

"Hey your royal fuckin' highness - you can get back in that sleeping bag and nap the rest of the morning away if you don't wanna come with me," intoned Daryl.

"Hold your horses for two seconds okay? I'm coming!" answered Mercedes.

Dale somehow doubted either would think to tell the rest of the group where they planned on going. Ever helpful he began to make his way towards the snarky pair.

"What're you two screaming about?" he asked, rounding the corner of the bed of Daryl's truck and covering his eyes to avoid the sight of Mercedes pulling her jeans up over her underwear. When it was safe to look again he lowed his hand and gazed expectantly at the pair.

"Daryl was peeing -" Mercedes began, eliciting an eye-roll from Daryl at her lack of consideration for the privacy of his bodily functions "- and he said he saw deer droppings, really fresh. We figured if we could catch it we might really eat well tonight," she finshed excitedly.

Dale had to admit the idea of venison was appetizing. Squirrels, rabbits, and birds got very old after a while. The supply of deer however had gotten low and the reason - they were an appetizing, huge meal for zombies - was depressing to think about.

"Sounds good. I'll tell Rick where you went when I see him - I don't think he'll mind since food is kind of neccessary," Dale said.

"Thanks dude. Tell him we'll be putting up cloth for Sophia too so we're keeping the search going at the same time," Mercedes said, not wanting it to seem like they were shirking their duties. But food was important if they wanted to survive to search for Sophia.

Shaking his head good-naturedly at being called 'dude' he gave a thumbs-up to indicate he would do so and moved off in the direction of the RV to climb to its roof. Maybe with those two moving on into the woods he could finally relax before everyone else woke up.

* * *

><p>Even as a kid Mercedes had been in a love affair with the woods. She could remember playing in the trees with her sister (though god knew where her sister was now) and picking through fallen branches and thinking that nature provided the best of jungle gyms. She could remember getting soaking wet in the creeks and then laying out in the sun patches she could find to dry off and just listen to the animals. Even with the world crashing down around them the woods were still as beautiful and peaceful as ever. There were some things that the disease couldn't touch.<p>

Neither of them was talking. They needed to be quiet if they wanted to track the deer without scaring it off. Tracking was something Daryl was infinitely more familiar with than Mercedes so she followed his lead and the hand signals he gave her every once in a while. It was an easy partnership, one borne out of the necessity that came with survival. But if you asked either of them they might say that in another life - one that didn't include zombies and the death of everything they once knew and loved - they might have been friends. It was strange how well they got along: as if they had known each other for years before all of this happened. Sure, Daryl was never lacking for a snarky comeback to anything Mercedes said but then again, she had the backbone to take it and laugh. They just meshed nicely.

As Mercedes walked behind him musing over last night's conversation about whether dogs or cats were better, Daryl held up his hand to stop her. She shot him a questioning gaze that was immediately answered by him pointing to another pile of droppings and a trail of hoofprints down towards the water. Daryl got close to her, close enough to feel his breath against the side of her face as he spoke.

"We'll have to cross an open area. We gotta look around for a few minutes before we try, otherwise we'll scare it off," he whispered. She nodded, swallowing hard against the flurry of butterflies in her stomach at his proximity. She liked to think she was pretty tough but this stupid guy made her feel twelve again and he didn't even know it.

They kneeled down in the bushes, each looking in the opposite direction for any movement. It couldn't have been more than forty seconds when she felt a sharp backhand smack against her arm - at which she rolled her eyes and sighed, couldn't he be a little less caveman-ish! - and saw Daryl pointing across the stream to a doe eating leaves off a bush. Any lingering annoyance she might have felt was replaced by wonder. She hadn't seen a deer in months. While most people would agree that deer were beautiful creatures just by virtue of their rare sighting they meant something more for Mercedes. It was something she was always hard-put to describe, especially when others saw the doe tattoo leaping over her shoulder blade. She related to them, their mysteriousness and their quiet beauty. It was something beautifully sinister about them - as if they lived in a world all their own - that drew her in like nothing else.

So when Daryl lifted his crossbow to put the deer in his sights she closed her eyes and balled her hands into fists. They had to do this - they had to eat and feed everyone else. She kept her eyes closed through the firing and the squeal of surprise and pain that indicated Daryl had hit his mark - as if he wouldn't.

"Come on," he said, ignoring her obvious misgivings. "I got it in the shoulder - we'll have to track it until it goes down."

It had been a strong one; they tracked it for another half hour before it fell down on a well-beaten deer path. Mercedes, upon seeing the deer so close up and hurt, had to bite her knuckles to prevent herself from letting the tears that had formed in her eyes fall.

"Hey, you okay?" Daryl asked, unsheathing his hunting knife in preperation to put the animal out of its misery.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry. I just really like deer...look," she said, turning her back to him and moving the top strap of her tank top over to reveal the large deer bounding across her upper back. When she turned around Daryl was looking at her strangely - she couldn't really interpret the look.

"Yeah well, could you quit it with that crying shit? It's kinda freakin' me out a little," he said and she let out a choking laugh and nodded.

He was just about to kneel next to the deer and dispatch it when Merecedes interjected.

"No! No, I'll do it," she said, reaching her hand out for his knife. He gave her that look again - like he was confused but he understood at the same time - and put the knife in her hand. Clutching it she put her other hand on the deer's shoulder in a small pat and whispered, "I'm so sorry."

With that, she stoically plunged the knife into the deer's throat. As it was a hunting knife it was long and she angled it up so that it'd pierce right into the animal's brain, ceasing all pain for it quickly. When all was said and done she handed the knife back to Daryl, slung her backpack off her shoulders, and dug around for the rope they'd packed to tie up the carcass if they were successful.

Ten minutes later they'd roped off it's legs and worked out how to sling it over their shoulders so they'd each carry half of the weight. Thankfully Mercedes was no stranger to manual labor and had enough strength to carry the deer at least to the camp.

On the walk back - an hour's journey - Mercedes was quiet.

"What are you thinkin' about? I usually can't make you shut up," Daryl said.

"We don't usually kill animals every day," she answered.

"Figures - you have no problem blowing out the brains of things that used to be human but killin' animals bothers you."

"I don't know, it's different! It's like...they didn't do anything to deserve it, and they have no real way to defend themselves besides running. I've always thought it was wrong. And zombies WERE human - they aren't anymore. It doesn't feel wrong, you know?"

Daryl nodded though Mercedes couldn't see it since she was walking in front.

"You're really weird, you know that?" he finished. To his surprise she started laughing so hard she almost dropped her end of the deer.

"You're not so normal yourself, Daryl Dixon," she retorted.

Screwing up his face he suddenly dropped the back end of the doe and scowled at her. He almost wanted to laugh when she stumbled and turned around with a "what the hell!" look on her face.

"You laughin' at me?" he accused, only half serious.

"Maybe!" she answered, confused by the angry accusations combined with a smile on his face. He was walking towards her rather menacingly and truth be told, it was attractive.

"Oh yeah?" he said, only a foot away from her now. She started backing up, not really scared since she trusted him enough not to really hurt her. But what if everyone at camp had been right and he wasn't to be trusted, a loose cannon that could go off any minute? She hadn't believed them but they had known him longer than her, maybe - her thoughts were abruptly cut off by the tree that halted her backward progress.

Daryl issued a predatory smile as he saw her trapped and stopped about six inches from her. She only came up to his chest - damn her short stature - and had to look up to see the expression on his face. It was that weird one she couldn't read again.

"Laugh at me again and see what happens," he growled.

The world around them was silent - even the woods seemed to be holding it's breath. Without even meaning to she pushed onto her tip-toes and started to angle her face so that it would fit perfectly against his...just a few inches and they'd be kissing...but those dreams were shattered when she felt him shove her back against the tree. It wasn't hard but it was enough to shock her out of the silence that had been roaring in her ears.

"Stupid bitch!" he yelled, his words cutting deeper than even the image of the deer lying prostrate on the ground had. "Just pick up your end of the deer and let's get this fuckin' thing back to camp."

Picking up her end of the deer and slinging it back over her shoulder, Mercedes didn't look at him once. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of being upset.

The entire walk back was deathly silent.

* * *

><p>When they returned to camp it was like some miracle had occured and she and Daryl were it's benefactors. The others gathered around excitedly, looking the deer over and already beginning to debate what the best way to prepare it would be. Daryl gave a grunt that sounded vaguely like "you're welcome" and stalked off in the direction of his truck.<p>

Everyone looked at Mercedes questioningly but she just shrugged and helped them drag the carcass towards the fire.

Plopping in a chair she spent the rest of the early evening talking with the others about the plans for the next day while Shane got to work carving up the deer. It was decided that they'd continue the search for Sophia tomorrow, though at this Mercedes noticed Shane shaking his head in Rick's direction. It wasn't an outright disagreement but it was certainly enough to communicate that he wasn't fully on-board with continuing the search. But Mercedes didn't have time to think about Shane's lack of faith or hope - Daryl's abscence from the group was bugging the hell out of her! She couldn't figure that asshole out!

They'd been getting along so well. Sure he was rude and snarky, but it was impossible not to see a wonderful man somewhere deep...deep down. And they'd been having such great conversations at night! Had it been so far-fetched to assume that maybe something more was growing between them?

Thinking about his reaction when she tried to kiss him, maybe it had been foolish.

The smell of frying venison however, quelled all thoughts of Daryl as she hungrily wolfed down the meat. Kane, who was enjoying his portion between Carl's feet, looked to her sadly as if he knew she was troubled. Maybe she'd ask him what the hell Daryl was thinking - dogs seemed to pick up on humans better than other humans did.

Maybe Dale was a dog.

Handing her a paper plate with a thick slice of venison on it and a few carrots from Hershel's garden Dale said, "Maybe you should see if Daryl wants this - you both worked hard for it." There seemed to be some meaning inside the observant man's words but it was lost on Mercedes who took the plate from his hands sourly.

"Yeah, if he doesn't flip the damn thing in my face and call me stupid again," she spat and got up to bring the food to Daryl.

It didn't take long to find him cleaning his crossbow and arrows, sitting on the bed of his truck and facing off into the woods.

"Here's some food," she said, equally as sour as she had been when taking it from Dale.

"Don't want it," he returned.

"Then don't eat it."

Silence ensued. It stretched on for a minute before Mercedes felt her rage bubble up and out of her mouth.

"What the fuck is your problem?" she yelled.

"Don't have one," he said back, scrubbing more furiously on his arrows as his fury mounted.

"Fine, then what was your problem when you called me a stupid bitch a while ago then?"

"Look, it ain't my problem that you took me being decent as likin' you," he spat back.

"Oh bullshit," she shot back. "I find it hard to believe that an asshole redneck like you would take the time to talk with me at all hours of the night if you didn't feel even a little bit the same."

This seemed to touch a nerve. Daryl threw the arrows into the bed of his truck and rocketed off his haunches, facing her with raw fury emanating off his skin.

"You know what? Fuck you!" he yelled at her, throwing his arms out and sweeping them around with each word, as if his anger was so great he couldn't help but show it with his body. "I find you in the woods shootin' all the squirrels and then you forget all the food and then you're a fuckin' pussy about killing the deer and just to top it off you think you can fuck with my head and kiss me even though I'm nothin' but a stupid redneck like the rest of them say! That's all you're thinking, but you know what bitch, I ain't stupid!"

Mercedes was caught between laughing at the absurdity of his argument against her and yelling back. The latter won.

"You could have fooled me! I'm not sure what kind of impression I've given you but I don't exactly run around kissing guys! I tried to kiss you today because I thought -"

She was cut off from her explanation by his mouth against hers. The angry refuations died in her throat. What was initially awkward almost immediately became effortless and beautiful. She felt his arms snake around her waist as he pushed her up against the side of the truck, his body pressed against hers. There was a desperation, a need in their kiss that spoke of the entirety of the situation the world found itself in. (_Love me now - we could both be dead tomorrow._) She found her hands running up his back, her fingers playing along the dip of his spine and shoulder blades until they wrapped around his shoulders. One of his arms remained around her body but the other went up, his hand finding its way into her hair and winding it into his fist. It was rough but that made it better - it made it him. The only sounds were their breathing as their mouths moved with one another, their heartbeats, and the cacophony of the crickets singing in the woods. He tasted like he smelled - sweat and gasoline, something that sounded distinctly unpleasant but it reality was unbelieveably perfect.

When they drew apart, out of breath and wide-eyed, Mercedes pressed her fingers to her lips and smiled. Hopping up on the tailgate she looked at Daryl questioningly. He was looking at her with that weird expression again.

"What?" she asked.

"You're really fucking weird," he answered, shaking his head and kissing her again.

* * *

><p>They fell asleep that night in the bed of his truck, Mercedes' head on Daryl's chest and his arm hooked around her. He figured it'd be asleep when he woke up and he'd have to deal with pins and needles from hell but he figured it was worth it, all things considered. He didn't know how it had happened but something - maybe God's sick sense of humor for saying that praying wouldn't change anything - had brought a girl who didn't scoff at his redneck heritage or call him stupid or look down at him like the rest of the camp.<p>

Didn't mean he'd stop being snarky. But maybe a little less snarky.

His last thought before falling asleep was that maybe there was a place for him among these people despite what Merle said. Maybe there was someone in the world that'd care about him besides his big brother and somehow they'd come together in the woods.

Mercedes' last thought before falling asleep was that she'd definitely have to ask Dale where he learned to be psychic. The man knew too damn much for his own good - though this time it was nothing BUT good.

* * *

><p><strong>WOO! KISSING! YEAH I LOVE IT! Haha, so yeah! I figured that Daryl would react much like he did to Carol when she tried to make sure he was okay after having a temper tantrum with the saddle when she said he wasn't well enough to go out and look for Sophia - he'd call Mercedes a bitch because she got too close and shut down. <strong>

**And then when Mercedes confronted him about it he wouldn't really have a legitimate argument because he'd be doing his tough act and not letting her inside. I'm pretty excited to start writing about the season's adventures and making some of my own up with the duo! Now that they're official I can move on to plots involving other characters and we can get some drama going. AND OF COURSE MORE KISSING! YAY KISSING!**

**To my wonderful reviewers:**

**twilightcity: I hope the previous chapter and this one have improved on Daryl's character! Otherwise, yeah I agree with you. I do quite a fair bit of writing on an equine RPG I co-own with a friend but for some reason writing fanfiction is incredibly different from that.**

**Silver Mirror: Girl, I wouldn't waste any time either! Hehe! It's funny because the first time I saw Daryl on the show I thought he was badass and a little funny but I wasn't really attracted to him. I really started to like him when he gave Carol the Cherokee Rose and then after that I fell in love with the character. LIKE, HOW COULD I NOT SEE IT BEFORE! lol I'm glad you find Mercedes likeable. It's walking a fine line between being too proficient and being too helpless!**

**Leyshla Gisel: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! Mercedes was like...HULK-RAGE when she saw that zombie on Daryl! haha**

**Quicksilvermad: Thank you for the review! I started reading your Walking Dead story and smiled when I saw Zeke. Out of all the WD FF I've been reading I hadn't seen another dog besides Kane and there Zeke is! I wonder what they'd do if they ever ran into each other? **

**Please review - I have to go back to classes tomorrow and it'd be a little less sad if I got to hear from you guys! :)**


	4. Brave Awakening

**Author's Note: Hi guys! Been a few days since I updated, but never fear - I still have just the same motivation but unfortunately it's the final two weeks of the fall semester and you know what that means: an inordinate amount of studying so that I can pass college. But that ALSO means that I'm two weeks away from winter break which means AN ENTIRE MONTH OF FREE TIME IN WHICH I CAN WRITE.**

**Thank you SO, SO much to everyone who's subscribed to this story and favorited it. It's even been added to a community! We're so early into it and already I've got such wonderful, positive feedback! You guys make me smile!**

**In the first chapter I mentioned that I'm going through some tough times. Basically it's the stress of going to college - I've always HATED school so something so intense is no fun for me - and my long time boyfriend (five years to be exact) and I broke up about a month ago. I'm okay, I've had time to process it - but it's still craptastic! Writing this has really been a catharsis for me and I'm glad you're all enjoying something that brings me a little happiness.**

**I hope it brings a little happiness to your day too!**

**This chapter has a little bit of everything, original and show plots! Let's go!**

They'd rolled apart during the night, Mercedes splayed comfortably with her legs over Daryl's knees but otherwise separate from him. Daryl - who's arms were comfortably free of pins of needles - just took it as proof that whatever was watching over them (for he didn't know if it was God, having never given much thought about it before hell broke loose and not really caring to now either) knew what it was doing. She wasn't clingy, didn't need to be all over him all the time. And yet there was still something drawing them together. But neither had actually SAID that, they'd just ended up kissing and then falling asleep.

Too much thought.

Pivoting his arms underneath him he pulled himself up and propped his body against the cab of the truck when the sound of...actually, he couldn't even really describe it. And now that he thought of it he was sitting on something funny. Shifting and reaching underneath him he pulled out a stuffed animal only a little bigger than his hand and he realized the weird sound was the beans inside it shifting under his weight. It was a stuffed rottweiler. Daryl stared at it awkwardly as if it knew he was judging it, wondering what the hell it was and why it had been under his butt.

"Were you sitting on Doby?" Mercedes asked groggily.

"Maybe, why?"

"That's rude," she said and held out her hand for the little animal. When Daryl put it in her hands she smiled and curled up again, drifting off to dream about whatever it was her strange little brain dreamed about.

"Really fuckin' weird," he muttered. He'd have to wake her up in a few minutes - Shane seemed in a particularly foul mood this morning when he had walked by the truck and Daryl didn't really feel like dealing with his issues - but for now he didn't mind relaxing and watching the way the scar on the side of her jaw and chest stretched every time she took a breath.

* * *

><p>After getting dressed and stowing Doby away in her backpack she looked to Daryl who nodded his head in the direction of the truck the group always laid the grid map down on. If one looked closely they might have noticed the hint of a smile on her lips and an extra swing in her step as she walked beside Daryl on their way over. It kind of felt like having her first crush; maybe the zombie apocalypse did that, made everything feel fresh, new, whole, fantastic (when it wasn't trying to kill you or cause irreperable psychological damage that is). She wouldn't deny their sudden closeness was strange. But the situation wasn't exactly normal. It kind of felt like having a sudden best friend, a partner...a friend you decidedly enjoyed kissing a lot.<p>

Shane had wasted no time in calling out his plan for the day. He seemed really agitated and Mercedes made a mental note to give him an incredibly wide berth. She was still the new girl and chances were she'd be the first to feel Shane's wrath as he didn't trust her completely yet, especially since she had taken a shine to Daryl. Some of the camp seemed to like having Daryl around and others seemed to distrust him. She hoped one day that'd change, that they'd see underneath his shell was a good man.

They looked over the map and Daryl pointed to a section of woods that hadn't been explored yet.

"Merch and I will take this area - there ain't a lot of woods, maybe she found somewhere to hunker down for the night," he said. Mercedes nodded, liking the fuzzy feeling of being included. Once the group had decided on their plans for the day and the time they could be expected back they headed off in their respective directions. Stopping at the truck to pick up their weapons, Daryl and Mercedes traipsed into the woods together in the direction of their part of the grid.

"You know, I feel like we spend half our lives in these woods," she said, laughing.

"That's funny - I figured a deer-lovin' nature freak like you'd be happy to be out here," Daryl said, no hint of a smile on his face though she could tell he was only poking fun. It was like his only mode of communication was snarkiness! Of course, that wasn't true - she'd seen him reassure Carol after an unfruitful day and he'd been serious and straight-forward. But he seemed to love to poke fun at Mercedes. She gave him in the middle finger coupled with her best scowl but it only served to make him laugh.

A few minutes passed in comfortable silence, both tracking the sounds around them for anything abnormal or the blessed sound of Sophia calling for them.

"You know one of the things I miss the most?" Mercedes suddenly said, her eyes wistful and far away.

"What?" Daryl asked, honestly wondering what this crazy girl could be remembering so fondly.

"Playing video games," she replied, throwing Daryl completely off-guard.

"This just proves you're as weird as I think you are. Me, I miss regular showers and sittin' down to eat a hot meal without worryin' about being mauled by some insane freak. But you're over there missin' video games," he said, shaking his head. She could see the hint of a smile on his face though.

"Yeah, especially Batman. Batman is the shit," she said. Daryl shot her in an incredulous look as if she had lost her mind.

"He's a guy who runs around in a speedo over tights. That ain't cool any day of the week."

"Dude, fuck you! Batman is the coolest ever!"

Choosing to agree to disagree after several more minutes of debating the finer points of Batman they came out in a clearing. It was pretty circular and surronded by trees on all sides. When it had been occupied it must have been a cool place to live, so far from civilization - peaceful, really.

"Let's check in the house. Gotta be real quiet about it though," Daryl said, inching closer to the house with his crossbow at his shoulder, aiming all around in case the house was infested and the zombies poured out at their approach.

"I was actually planning on running in there and screaming to see if there were any zombies," she retorted. Daryl gave her a withering look and shook his head. She just smiled and fell into step behind him. As he mounted the stairs and traipsed warily into the house she covered his back, checking the line of the woods before following him inside. It was deathly quiet in the house and Mercedes would have sworn it was abandoned from the thick layer of dust covering all the surfaces. Daryl however, was adament about making sure before lowering his guard. Pressing a finger to his lips he beckoned her to follow him, her walking backwards to cover behind them as they searched through all the rooms on the bottom floor.

The kitchen was abysmal, cans of food scattered around the floor and half-eaten containers of spam rotting on the table. Daryl whistled low to draw her attention and held up a container of Spam that didn't look more than a day or two old. Giving him the thumbs-up she nodded in enthusiasm for his find.

It didn't take long for him to uncover more. A small closet held two treasures - one, shelves full of crackers and canned soup that they could take back to camp; and the second being a small make-shift bed. A pillow had been propped up in the corner and a dirty old blanket lay curled up as if someone had huddled within it. Mercedes looked at Daryl with wonder, both knowing that only someone small could have fit in here. Sliding her backpack off her back, Mercedes got to work tearing apart bits of the brightly colored towel they'd use to make a path back to camp for Sophia if she came back here. (_If it had been her at all, _Mercedes thought, but she wouldn't let herself think like that.) With a silver Sharpie she scrawled a message to Sophia in huge letters on the wall.

"Sophia - follow the towels. They'll lead you to camp. - Daryl & Mercedes"

She wouldn't know Mercedes' name, but she would know Daryl. But somehow it still felt important to include herself, as if the search bonded her to the girl even if they'd never seen each other's faces.

When Daryl came back he had a strange look on his face, as if something had made him both simultaneously sad and happy. Mercedes opened her mouth to question him but then thought better of it as the sound of moving furniture exploded in their ears. It seemed as loud as a gunshot after the silence they'd been enduring. She instinctually twisted towards the sound and lifted her pistol into her sights. She was closer to the door, closer to the sound they'd heard. Keeping her back pressed to the wall and Daryl in her peripheral she snuck out of the room into the hallway.

The silence was deafening in her ears.

Keeping firmly pressed to the wall she had her sights trained on the lip of the breezeway into the front room. She almost jumped out of her skin when she felt Daryl's arm press up against hers, joining her as she slid across the wall. Holding up a hand to indicate she'd be stopping she took a deep breath and peered around the corner. What she saw both terrified and relieved her. It was only one walker shuffling in circles around the front room and the dread that came with their gurgling faux-breaths was instinctual, but the relief was supplied by the ease with which one lone walker was taken out. She lifted one finger to indicate what she was seeing to Daryl who nodded and swept past her to swiftly dispatch the walker silently with an arrow.

Sighing with the release of tension she walked to the front door as Daryl went into the front room to retrieve the arrow from its position in the walker's rotten brain. She wished she hadn't.

"Oh my god," she said, terror creeping in to her voice. Daryl snapped his head up and rushed to the door, looking out the way they had come. His stomach sank down into his knees (or at least felt like it) at the sight of, he'd estimate, forty walkers shuffling through the trees.

"How are we going to get out? That's the way we came, we'll get lost if we go out the back into the woods," Mercedes whispered.

"Come on," Daryl said, not wasting his time explaining the hail-mary he'd whipped up. Despite their combined prowess with weapons they'd never be able to take down that number of walkers by themselves. It was a huge number of walkers to have ambling around the woods but if they were in a herd they might be able to come back later with Rick, Shane, and Andrea and have a fighting chance. They couldn't leave them walking around the woods close to camp, but they couldn't take them down now either.

Mercedes followed him without a word out the back door. They pressed their backs up against the house and went around the far side, outflanking the horde of shuffling geeks as they approached the house. When they came to the front corner they stopped, knowing they'd have to break cover and run for the woods.

"Do you think we could chance the wait until they get closer?" she whispered, thinking the closer the zombies were to the house the less likely it was that they would see the pair of humans as they ran away.

"Nah, too dangerous," he muttered back. "Let's just go for it."

Swallowing the lump of fear roiling up her throat Mercedes nodded and made sure everything was secure. Daryl grabbed her upper arm and squeezed and had Mercedes not been absolutely terrified of running past a herd of walkers she might have widened her eyes at the moment of kindness.

She nodded again and Daryl raised his hand, counting down from three on his fingers.

3...

2...

1...

They broke from the side of the house like wildfire, the only sound their feet pounding against the hard ground and the rattle of their weapons as they slammed against their bodies. Mercedes breathing was ragged, fear clinging to her brain and refusing to let go. Daryl just looked freakishly determined.

The sound she had been dreading ripped through the air and crashed into her ears; one of the zachs had spotted them and alerted the others to prey. One by one more of the geeks fell into step...and began running. It wasn't quite as fast as Daryl and Mercedes were traveling but it was the worst news they could have asked for. Mercedes began sprinting now, keeping up with Daryl's longer strides.

They ran into the treeline, jumping fallen sticks and weaving through the trees like deer escaping the scariest wolves they'd ever seen. Neither spoke, unwilling to waste the breath they needed for their muscles on talking. Mercedes had never run this long in her life - but then again she'd never had quite the same motivation. She could see the zombies had crashed into the tree line and were following adamently but were having a harder time getting through the trees and fallen branches as deftly as the two live people did.

It was the advantage they needed - they kept up their speed for another ten minutes until both felt their chests pounding fit to burst. Daryl grabbed her arm and yanked her to the left in the direction of the river and they both went down on their butts to slide quickly down the embankment towards the river. Lifting her guns to keep them out of the water Mercedes swam, kicking her feet to move through in the slow current. Daryl was doing the same, both attempting to wash off the sweat and pheromones that betrayed them to the zombies. They scrambled out of the water and charged up the other side of the embankment, disappearing into the woods once more.

Another five minutes and neither could keep up the pace. Sinking to put her hands on her knees and hold herself up, Mercedes gasped for air and kept her eyes trained around them. There were no gurgling moans or the sounds of sticks breaking so she took the minute to take stock. They had escaped without getting bitten and that's all she really cared about.

"You okay?" Daryl asked, gasping just as hard for air.

"Yeah...yeah..." she gasped back. "I just...I'm just glad I didn't trip over anything like those stupid bitches always do in the movies," she said.

Daryl looked at her for a minute as he breathed heavily, looking very serious. She had meant it as a joke but he seemed to be taking it more literally.

"Me too Merch," he said. She smiled shyly at him.

"Come on, we gotta get moving. Try not to trip, I'm surprised you didn't," he said, trying to switch the subject away from the fact that he'd revealed his feelings once more.

She just smiled between her gasping breaths, slung her shotgun over her shoulder, and picked her way through the brush after him.

* * *

><p>When they came stumbling back into camp everyone who hadn't gone out to scout for Sophia that day immediately panicked at their exhausted state. After gulping down a bottle of water each they explained what had happened.<p>

"We need to go back there," Dale said. "That's too many walkers to leave walking around so close to camp." The journey to the house was about an hour walking which, Mercedes agreed, seemed too close for comfort.

"What's this?" a voice asked from the back of the group and everyone parted to reveal Shane and Rick.

"Daryl and Mercedes ran into a herd of walkers in the woods," Dale supplied. Rick suddenly looked panicked and Shane spread out his feet and crossed his arms over his broad chest as he was wont to do when serious.

"How many?" Rick asked.

"'Bout 40, give or take," Daryl answered. "We found a house. It had a ton of food in it - some of it might be stale but there was a lot of canned shit. And then in the closet...there was a pillow and a blanket and only someone little could have slept there." The implication that it was Sophia hung thick in the air and Carol suddenly looked tearful.

"Look, we don't even know if it was Sophia and it's gonna be three o' clock soon. We can't risk going out there right now -" Shane began, voicing the annoyance he had already argued with Rick about earlier. He didn't see the point in continuing all this work, in putting the man-hours they could be using on something else into searching for a girl who was more than likely dead. Or worse.

But Carol was looking at him with daggers in her eyes.

"But if Sophia is there she'll be walking into a herd!" she yelped, putting a hand to her mouth as Lori wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"And there are supplies in that house," Dale added.

"And we can't have such a large group of walkers that close to camp or Hershel's farm - we owe it to him to protect the place," Rick finished.

Shane looked fit to murder them.

"Fine. You all want to waste our time running into a herd of zombies, fine," he said, storming off in the direction of his car to gather some guns. The rest awkwardly shambled to their respective areas. Dale would remain vigilant on the top of the RV - an even more important job now that they knew a large group of walkers was less than an hour's hike away - while Lori, Carl, and Carol would stay behind to make food for the returning group and maintain camp. Rick, Shane, Andrea, Daryl, and Mercedes would return to the house and dispatch the herd. They'd have eight zombies a piece to kill if Daryl's estimation was right, which didn't seem too hard. Glenn was in the nearby town on a pharmacy run and therefore wasn't around to help.

It took the group another forty-five minutes to find their way back to the house. It wasn't hard to pin-point it's location as they got closer - the zombies were gurgling and moaning to one another as they walked in circles.

Shane counted quickly and nodded to Daryl.

"You were almost right - 36 of 'em. Make a small semi-circle people, let's hit them from all directions."

It was over almost as quickly as it began. They came out of the woods guns blazing, their pistol fire tearing through skull and brain as they took out the herd. It was a close fight, the fast-moving walkers sometimes catching the survivors off guard. Mercedes, who'd been closest to Andrea in the circle, noticed a walker running up behind the blond. Sprinting over after popping a shot off in a zombie she whipped her knife from her boot and sliced in through the zombie's throat in one swipe. Blood ran out over her hands and wrists but it was disturbingly cold. Curling her lip she shoved the knife into its brain and yanked it back out. Andrea yelled a breathless thank you and shot the brains out of an approaching zombie.

"Nice one," Mercedes called, running off to help Rick as five zombies bore down on him. He managed to kill a zombie who'd surprised Mercedes and she let out a thanks before running off to another zombie.

When it was done they checked each other over for bites or other injuries but they'd all come out on top. Shane even seemed to be in a better mood. Strange, what made that man chipper.

They worked quickly then, racing the sun as it moved down towards the horizon. They would have an hour and a half before it got late enough for the zombies to get more active but they wouldn't be taking any chances. They quickly stuffed all the good food they could find into their backpacks, Daryl and Mercedes feeling good about doing something helpful that day. The days were beginning to take their toll - every fruitless afternoon searching for Sophia dragged them down a little more. At least they could do something for the group.

On the walk home the group set to work tacking up the pieces of towel for Sophia to follow. They could only hope she was around to see them.

* * *

><p>It was getting dark when they got back. Almost all of them had blood on them somewhere, just proof of the slaughter of the herd. Carol looked hopefully when they emerged from the woods but quickly became tearful when she didn't see her daughter among the returning. She trotted away to the RV, stifling a sob as she closed the door behind her. Daryl looked after her and frowned.<p>

"Will you take this to the fire with everyone else? I'll follow you in a minute," he said, holding out his backpack to Mercedes. She nodded and took it from him, and then watched him run off in the direction of the RV.

It was only five minutes before he'd returned, but he appeared to be in a slightly more content mood. The whole group worked together to unpack the food. They exclaimed joyfully over luxuries like Italian Wedding soup in a can. A few months ago Mercedes might have passed on something like that, but now it seemed like the meal of kings after squirrel and carrots night after night.

Dinner was a happy affair, everyone feeling content with something new to eat. Carl and Kane sat on the ground, Carl's hand absently petting the dog's head. They all traded stories of times before the dead roamed the earth, some of which were too funny for Mercedes to eat while she heard them. She loved to laugh and it was so rare in these times that it only made it better.

It seemed important to keep those memories and the people in them real, not to be consumed in the hell they'd been thrust into.

As they all got up, stretching and satisfied, she said good-night to everyone. They all smiled and returned the gesture. She felt like she was beginning to belong to the group, become a valuable member. She was a social creature by nature and intended to get to know everyone but having them value her as she did them was a start.

It wasn't too late so Mercedes grabbed a change of clothes from the truck and snuck into the farmhouse to take a quick shower. Watching the blood and dirt go down the drain she thought about Daryl. What were they? They'd known each other for a week. She felt these feelings that she'd never known before when she was around him. She wanted to spend most of her day kissing him, but it was something more too, some kind of understanding that inexorably drew them together. They just clicked. And she didn't want to die tomorrow saying he was a guy she liked and maybe he liked her but she didn't really know. She wanted to know. Turning off the hot water she got out of the shower and pulled on her favorite pair of black yoga pants and a plain white t-shirt.

Offering a quiet good-night to Hershel, who was heading up the stairs to bed, she slipped out of the house and made her way back to the camp and to Daryl's truck. She found him taking off his boots.

"So, what'd you say to Carol earlier when you went to the RV? She looked better at dinner," she asked him. To her surprise he readily told her about the Cherokee Rose he'd found on their first visit to the house (at which point Mercedes remembered his combined happy/sad look and realized he must have just found the flower) and how it'd reminded him of Carol's situation. When he got to the end of his story and explained how he'd given the flower as a symbol of hope to Carol, Mercedes had to try to stop herself from throwing her arms around him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Daryl asked warily.

"No reason," Mercedes said, gathering herself. If she told him the truth - that she knew he was a good man beneath his projected tough guy attitude, and that she knew he had emotions and cared about those around him - she knew she was sure to get an earful about how stupid she was.

"So, about yesterday..." she said, her voice trailing off. It wasn't awkward to talk about it, despite its newness.

"What about it?"

"What does it mean?"

"What?" Daryl asked, confused.

"I mean...what does all this mean to you? You know I like you but I just want to know what we are now," she supplied, vaguely embarassed.

"I don't know, I'm pretty serious," he said, surprising himself. When he'd been a kid he'd had a girlfriend or two but it had never really worked out. He wasn't big into the emotions thing and besides it had never been serious. It was more to tell his hillbilly friends he'd gotten a hand up some girl's shirt than because he actually cared.

"Alright, good," she said, smiling and laying back on the sleeping bag. To her surprise Daryl rolled out the second sleeping bag and laid next to her. Kane nestled at their feet, putting his huge head on Daryl's feet and sighing contentedly.

"Well said, Kane," Mercedes said, smiling. She turned on her side to face Daryl who was lying on his back. She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, tired to her bones and wanting nothing but to drift off to sleep. Instead she felt his fingers under her chin, guiding her face up to his. He pressed his lips to hers. It was different than the night before. Daryl pushed off his elbow and slid on top of her. She slid her fingers up his arms and smiled into their kiss, remembering how one of the first things she had noticed had been his arms. Who thought she'd have free roam to explore them a few days later? One of her hands found the back of his neck and stayed there as they relaxed into each other. His hand rested on her right hip and squeezed, wrenching a gasp from her. He could feel his smile at the control he had in the situation. As much as she would have liked to roll her eyes, instead she just melted into him. It was futile trying to come out on top in this situation - he knew how he was making her feel. It was all quiet and peaceful and...nice. Very, very, nice.

* * *

><p><strong>TO MY WONDERFUL REVIEWERS:<strong>

**MichelleJoy: I'm glad you approve of the way I write Daryl - I've been trying to make sure he's true to character! I enjoyed writing about the kissing. I was listening to Linkin Park's "Waiting For The End" while writing it, and although I'm not a huge fan of them it seemed to give me motivation for the moment! Thanks for reading!**

**Leyshla Gisel: It's not just you - I totally agree with you on both points! Kissing after arguing = very awesome. And Carol/Daryl just doesn't vibe for me. I mean, I'm gonna trust whatever the writers do because they've never steered me wrong so far. But I agree that she's more motherly. I didn't watch the Talking Dead - I'll have to look it up on On Demand! Thanks for reviewing again! 3**

**Silver Mirror: I looked up Norman Reedus after seeing him on the show and then I was like "DAMN, HE'S IN LIKE...A BILLION THINGS I'VE SEEN." And I've always found him attractive but it took the Walking Dead to really explode my brain into realizing what I've been missing, haha. I think he's an incredible actor, and seems like a truly nice person. Thanks for reviewing again - I wouldn't care if you wrote me a novel, haha! 3**

**EpicPotter66: Thanks, glad you're enjoying it as much as I am! I'll keep it up as long as everyone is enjoying it! **

**Please review - it feeds me while I drudge through my studying! hehe! I've got a lot of subscribers, but not too many reviews. I'd love to hear from you guys - your thoughts are important to moi!**

_**NEXT TIME: Some Chupacabra-episode plottage, yeah! Some...stuff that involves Daryl and Mercedes happens in the woods. -shifty eyes- Glenn and Mercedes have a chat about Maggie and things get a little hairy. Lori comes to Mercedes for some strange advice, and someone no one thought they'd ever see comes strolling into camp. I'm excited - best chapter yet I think! TUNE IN, LET'S SURVIVE THE MID-SEASON BREAK TOGETHER! :D**_


	5. Chupacabra

**AN: Hey everyone! For all of my college people in the US, WE'RE SO CLOSE TO WINTER BREAK. I know some of you are already on it, and I envy you!**

**Alright, let's get started - I'm pretty excited about this chapter. I think it's one of the best yet and we've definitely gotten to the meat of the show. That means we get to start exploring original stories. If any of you have anything you'd like to see happen involving any of the characters just leave it in a review. I'd love to write something you guys want to see!**

**WARNING: For those whom it bothers, there is some sensuality in this chapter. It's not smut - it's sexual matters written about in a mature manner. :D There is also a bit more language than usual, but what can I say? When fall-induced visions of Merle are involved, there is bound to be some foul-mouthery!**

**Also, if you haven't been keeping up with Season 2, THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR EPISODE: CHUPACABRA.**

Daryl was gone when she woke up. The sun wasn't up in the sky yet and she estimated it was about seven. Back before the zombie apocalypse she had usually slept until nine or ten - the dark gray skies of an early summer morning still surprised her. The slight lightening on the horizon confirmed that she wasn't far off in her guess though, and she sat up to hug her knees and attempt to force herself awake. The camp was pretty much silent, but she could see the sides of tents moving as their occupants woke up to another day.

When she finally reconciled with the fact that it was time to get up she slid down from the truckbed, stretching backwards with her arms reaching behind her. Kane ran to the edge of the woods to go to the bathroom and, while keeping an eye on him, Mercedes changed into a pair of jeans and a fitted green t-shirt. She knew they'd be going out on the hunt for Sophia again today and decided wearing forest colors was their best bet if they wanted to be sneaky.

Kane came running to her low whistle and they walked into the main part of camp together, Kane running over gleefully to lick Carl's sleepy face. She left the pitbull to it - he had taken a liking to the boy who tirelessly threw sticks for him. She found everyone gathering around the main fire, Carol whipping up eggs that Hershel had been kind enough to share (though Mercedes gleaned that it wasn't without a little reluctance on the old man's part).

She listened to the others talk and nodded in agreement with their plans for the day. Shane looked just as grumpy as ever, Lori looked strained, Carol looked just as careworn as ever...but still there was that nagging hope that today would be the day they'd find the little girl.

Daryl didn't escape her notice when he walked up to join the group.

He sat down next to her in an empty canvas chair, shoving eggs in his mouth with all the manners of a barbaric jaguar. She rolled her eyes, but smiled. The night before had brought the kind of contentment that neither of them had known in weeks, a bone-deep relaxation. Mercedes felt more rested then she could ever remember. They had kissed until both of them were out of breath, Daryl's hand tight on one of her hips and squeezing every once in a while just to enjoy her reaction.

She smiled at him while she wolfed down her own breakfast and she could swear she saw the ghost of his own happy expression, as guarded as it was.

"Gonna have to get movin' in a few...meet me in the barn in a few minutes alright?" Daryl said to Mercedes. She nodded in agreement and took his plate while he walked off in the direction of the horse barn.

While helping Carol put plates away she noticed Glenn sitting rather glumly by himself in the corner. It wasn't like him, to be so quiet. Mercedes knew he'd been out on the pharmacy run yesterday, accompanied by Maggie. Smiling to Carol who thanked her for the help she walked off towards Glenn.

"Hey man, what's up?" she asked, sitting down on the ground and putting her elbows on her knees.

"Not much Merch, you? Glenn replied, rifling through his backpack, the sound of pill bottles rattling around confirming he'd been successful on his run yesterday.

"Same old, same old. But I don't believe you - what's wrong?"

Glenn was quiet for a minute, looking up at the sky as if debating whether to tell her what was going on.

"Alright, look. I'll tell you, but you can't get mad okay? I already got an earful about it from Dale," Glenn sad bitterly. Wondering what Glenn could possibly have done that warranted such a preface she nodded in encouragement.

"Maggie and I had sex yesterday," he blurted out, looking both smug and worried at the same time. Mercedes, for her part, was trying to work out exactly what part of that news she was supposed to be mad about.

"Why is Dale mad about that?" she asked.

"He says if Hershel finds out we won't be able to stay here anymore. I get that. But it's not going to happen again anyway - ever since we got back yesterday Maggie has been treating me like something she found on the bottom of her shoe," he said dejectedly. Mercedes found herself getting mad - what right did Maggie have to treat him that way! Glenn was a genuinely nice guy, a rare commodity even before the zombie apocolypse.

"I'm sorry Glenn. We women are mysterious though - who knows what she's thinking," Merch supplied, wiggling her fingers around mystically.

"Yeah, I know. I don't know...I thought it was going somewhere. Stupid, really...how fast it all happened..." Glenn said, taking off his cap and rubbing the back of his neck in embarressment. Why was he feeling so hurt when Maggie hadn't promised anything anyway? Mercedes however, looked very serious when she answered.

"Not stupid, not at all. Everything's different now. If anything, it's faster. Who knows when we're going to die - we might as well do away with all that flirting and pretense and just admit how we're feeling," she said. She didn't mean that they should all go around having sex with everyone they found attractive. But if they met someone who they had feelings for and were happy around, there was no use beating around the bush. Why stall the little happiness they could find?

Glenn smiled and nodded, seemingly a little heartened.

"I gotta go meet Daryl, but I'll check in with you when I get back. Maybe we can make up some kind of plan to win her over," Mercedes said devilishly. Glenn laughed - a true one that Mercedes was happy to hear - and waved her away, unpacking the medications he'd managed to recover yesterday.

He was glad she'd stumbled on their little band.

* * *

><p>It hadn't occured to her to ask whether or not they had permission to use the horses they were currently sitting on. She just assumed - which called to mind that age-old saying about the foolishness of assuming - that Daryl had gotten permission and therefore nothing clouded her conscience as they trotted off the farm into the woods.<p>

It was a relatively pleasant three hours they spent scouring the woods. They'd chosen part of the grid next to the house they'd discovered the day before in the hopes that Sophia had scouted ahead for signs of life. Both of them kept shooting snarky comments towards one another, the reciever easily parrying a rude comment with a snide remark of their own. Every once in a while they told stories of their childhood and what they used to be, or how they came to have the skills they did. Mercedes, for her part, was completely at home on a horse, having had a passion for them from an early age.

"How many skills do you have, really?" Daryl asked, considering her confidence with firearms.

"Not really many, you know. I mean...they all just seem to be helpful in the situation which is wierd. I'm comfortable on a horse, I'm good at shooting things...and I can sing decently I guess. Other than that I'm pretty normal."

"Yeah well, they jury's still out on that one..." Daryl muttered, earning a weird acorn thing Mercedes picked off a tree being thrown at him.

As the morning rolled into the afternoon, Mercedes started to feel hungry.

"Wanna eat something?" she asked, sitting deep into her saddle and putting pressure on the reins to stop her horse.

"Yeah, but I didn't bring anything," Daryl answered.

"I did!" Mercedes said, happy to have one-upped the man who always seemed to have the plan. Sliding out of the saddle she safety-knotted her mare to a sturdy tree and walked a few feet away to sit on top of a ridge overlooking the stream below. She pulled two sandwiches wrapped in tin foil from her backpack, tossing one to Daryl who came to sit next to her.

"PB&J man, classic," she said, chewing happily. They were silent while they ate, listening to the sounds of the woods and the horses whooshing air softly through their nostrils as they eyeballed each other. They were sitting close enough for Mercedes to feel the sleeve of Daryl's shirt against her arm, but it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable. Before all this zombie business had happened (it was strange how there seemed to be such a harsh line between before and after, as if she had entered another life that had nothing to do with her first one) she was often told how easy she was to be around, nonjudgemental and quick to defuse the awkwardness by enthusiastically participating in conversation. With a man like Daryl, who under his hard-ass exterior was genuinely kind but had been groomed by circumstances to act as if he didn't care, this was a skill that came in very handy.

When they were finished she split a bottle of water with him and threw the balled up foil in her backpack. No reason to screw the world up more by littering, though she did notice Daryl rolling his eyes at her. She walked back over to the side of the ridge, looking down to the river.

"It's a long way down there...think there are paths to ride down on?" she asked.

"Probably," Daryl answered, a lot closer than he had been ten seconds before. She stiffened and turned around to see him right behind her, looking at her with eyes that said he knew a lot more than anyone else gave him credit for. Without thinking she went on her tip-toes to kiss him, inhaling the scent of gasoline and metal that she had come to know so well.

At first she felt him tense up, as if unsure of what was happening. But as quickly as he initially reacted, another instinct kicked him and she heard him grunt and take over. So much for her control; for a man who acted like all this was new, he sure had a knack for kissing. Wrapping his hands around her upper arms he used his body to push her towards a tree and put her back up against it.

Both times they had kissed previously had been hot, no doubt. But this was different...as if they both had permission to have at it now that they'd discussed the topic. The bark of the tree behind her was digging into her back and his hand found its way to one of her hips again, digging his fingers in and drawing a gasp from her. There was a passion now, a need in the way their hands explored each other.

It wasn't poetry. Daryl wasn't eloquent like that, and Mercedes was so into it that she wouldn't have been able to string two words together if her life depended on it right then and there.

Before she knew it the kiss had deepened, one of her hands splayed against his chest and the other against the tree, her fingers digging into the bark as if they'd help ground her. They were both breathing heavily, the heat of Daryl's hands running down her sides exploding behind her eyes...she was so focused on kissing him, on the way he smelled, on the way his body was pressed against hers and how it felt so good, that she didn't even notice his hands bunching up her t-shirt until the cool breeze snaked up her back.

Her eyes snapped open in surprise, expecting to see a smirk or some expression of superiority. (Maybe she'd been hanging around Shane too much.) But instead all she saw was some strange sort of reverence as he looked down at her. His rough hands ran up her back and she felt like she was on fire. There was no finesse in his touch but his sincerity, the slight edge of violence that occupied the movements of everything he did, made up for it. He managed to unhook her bra with one hand which, for a minute, thoroughly surprised her. But then she realized he was good at just about everything else he did - shooting things in the brain with a crossbow, hunting, a myriad of other things - so he might as well be good at this too. It was almost infuriating. But she forgot about that when his hands trailed back down her back, looped around on her hips to the front, and started making their way back up. She forgot how to breathe for a second, anticipating his touch before he even got there.

He obliged.

Mercedes' back arched into his touch, closing her eyes in pleasure and letting instinct take over as she slid her hands under his shirt and ran her fingers up his stomach, pressing them to his bare chest, feeling how hot his skin was, hard and tense under her touch.

If they hadn't been out in the middle of the woods with a little girl to look for, Daryl might have taken her right then and there. It wasn't as if hadn't done things like this before, but it'd never felt quite this good. He wouldn't have bet money that anyone else had actually cared about him anyway either. He would admit - to himself - that he hoped Mercedes cared like she said she did. Because he cared. Not that he'd admit that. Nope. But if she kept making those faces he'd have to take her...

But the horses - those goddamn horses - started squealing at each other, ears back in irritation. The two humans broke apart and quickly settled the dispute before they had two half-ton animals battling each other. Mercedes cheeks were flushed as she re-hooked her bra, attempting to make sure everything was back in alignment before meeting Daryl's eyes. He smiled at her, tightening the girth on his horse and swinging up into the saddle.

"So, about those paths..." he said, earning another wierd acorn thing whizzing towards his head, Mercedes laughing more happily then she could remember in a long, long time.

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes later they still hadn't found a viable way down closer to the river. They'd thoroughly scouted through the area above the river - if they couldn't get farther down there was no point in continuing on that day. Both were thoroughly disheartened, batting around ideas in their heads but coming up empty more often than not. Still ruminating, Daryl looked down at the river.<p>

"Merch..Merch, look!" he said, pointing fervently downward. She drew even with him and her eyes widened when she saw what he did. A doll lay battered against a washed-up log. She didn't recognize it, having never met Sophia, but Daryl seemed excited enough to warrant her own renewed enthusiasm. Daryl urged his horse back along and Mercedes followed, keeping her eyes peeled for a path downward.

It was then that Daryl's horse spooked, going up on it's hind legs. It all seemed to happen in seconds - her horse reacted instinctually when it's herdmate spooked and did so as well, scooting off to the right and leaving Mercedes behind with a gut-wrenching twist. She could feel herself flying, hands grabbing desperately for purchase on the dirt. Terror slammed into her when she felt sheer, flat rock under her palms - was she falling down the side of the cliff they'd been attempting to find a way around? Through her tumbling vision she caught sight of Daryl in the same situation and her heart flew into her throat.

It was over before it had even really begun, cold water enveloping her as she slammed into the river. It was shallow and therefore her body took the brunt force of the impact. She lay there for a second, trying desperately to suck in air but the wind had been knocked out of her. Her brain felt kind of fuzzy and she kept blinking in a furious attempt to clear her vision. She looked to the right at her hand floating in the water...bright-red water. So much blood...who was that coming from?

It seemed to jog her brain into action and Mercedes immediately flipped over onto her stomach and pushed herself out of the water. It was almost immediately obvious where the blood was coming from: Daryl lay in the water with an arrow sticking up from his left side.

"Son of a bitch," she heard him mutter as he realized what had happened to him. On her feet now she offered him a hand and stumbled to a sandbank where they could assess the damage. Mercedes was covered in scrapes and cuts, the largest of which tore through the back of her t-shirt and was bleeding profusely. She left her t-shirt as it was so that it would stick to the wound and help it to clot. She cringed when she saw the other half of the arrow pierced clean through Daryl's side. Before she could even process how much it must hurt he had his knife out and was cutting the sleeves off his shirt. She held out her hand for him to place the scraps in and when he was ready he tied them together and around the arrow to hold it in place. Mercedes tried to keep her face impassive, imagining how the arrow would feel wiggling around in his body as the sleeve-bandage tightened.

"We gotta get out of here," Daryl said, looking up to the top of the cliff where they'd just been. Mercedes swallowed at its sheer height, thinking it would have been no cake walk even if both of them were at their best. She nodded though, despite how much she didn't want to do this. It was either die sitting here or die trying.

The sound of rustling leaves shot through the air in the river basin and both of them looked in its direction. Mercedes immediately put a hand to her waist and had to stop herself from swearing wildly when she couldn't find the Glock. It must have gotten lost during the fall. Damn, damn, damn! The shotgun was in it's make-shift shoulder holster...currently hanging off the horn of the saddle on their horses. Some use that would be! Out of the corner of her eye Daryl was picking up a large stick and wading into the water. At first she thought blood loss might have made him touched in the head but it quickly dawned on her that he was searching for his cross-bow in the water.

As he poked around she looked for a make-shift weapon, anything to make her feel a little safer against whatever hid in the bushes. Nothing!

It didn't matter though - Daryl had found his bow and was nodding her in the direction of the cliff. It took them a minute to find a patch that looked viable but they attacked it with all the vigor they could manage. Every once in a while Mercedes looked back at Daryl - he was growing paler by the minute and every movement seemed to be a struggle. She could hear him grunting in pain behind her and eventually she got herself steady enough and leaned a hand back.

"Come on, I'll help you," she pleaded.

"No, keep going. I'm fine," he said, wincing as he used a tree branch to pull himself up.

"Daryl, any other hour of any other day of the week you're badass. I'm being completely serious, you are. But if you don't let me help you, we're _both_ going to die out here," she exclaimed, a note of utter finality in her last words. He stared at her, stuck between the sideways compliment and the unrelenting wooziness and finally took her hand. She pulled with all her might and they made it another ten feet before she felt his grip loosening. She looked back to see his eyes close and his body falling backwards through space to land with a sickening thud on the sand below. It took all she had not to scream.

Without thinking she started free-running down the hill. In happier times she might have been stuck between calling herself a complete idiot and laughing her ass off as she placed her feet on instinct, running down the hill with no thought but getting to Daryl. She almost made it when she placed a foot wrong and went careening down the hill. She didn't hit nearly as hard as Daryl had though, and managed to crawl over to him.

She found him talking to himself...not a good sign. Was he talking about his brother?

_Daryl felt kind of funny. His vision was hazy and sparkly at the sides, as if the sun was bursting at its seams. Blinking to rid the trippy effects wasn't helping...instead for some reason it made him see Merle. What was Merle doing here? Wasn't he gone?_

_"Merle?" Daryl asked, his voice coming out weak._

_"Why don't you pull that arrow out dummy? You could bind your wound better," his older brother said, lacking none of that acerbic wit he'd been so quick with his whole life. His shaved head blocked out the sun, a fact where Daryl was subconciously grateful for. It had been freaking him out. "Hmm, what's going on here? You takin' a siesta or something?"_

_"Shitty day bro," Daryl said, his head lolling to the side._

_"Want me to get you a pill? Maybe rub your feet?" Merle asked, taunting laughter laced in his words._

_"Screw you."_

_"You're the one screwed from the looks of it. All them years I spent trying to make a man of you...this is what I get? Look at you! Lyin' in the dirt like a used rubber. You're gonna die out here little brother. And for what?" Merle asked scornfully._

_"Carl. Lost a little girl..."_

_"So you got a thing for little girls now?"_

_"Shut up..." Daryl said, his voice weaker than ever._

_"'Cause I noticed, you ain't out lookin' for old Merle no more..."_

_"Tried like hell to find you bro..."_

_"Like hell you did! You split man, lit out first chance you got..." Merle retorted._

_"You lit out. All you had to do was wait, we went back for ya. Rick and I, hmm...we did right by you."_

_"This the same Rick that cuffed me to the rooftop in the first place? Forced me to cut off my own hand...this who we talking about here? You his bitch now?"_

_"I ain't nobody's bitch..." Daryl returned, some of that offended self-defense Merle knew so well returning._

_"You're a joke is what you are. Playing errand boy to a bunch of pansy-ass niggers and democrats. You're nothing but a freak to them. Redneck trash. That's all you are. Yeah, they're laughing at you behind your back. You know that don't you? Got a little news for you son - one of these days they're gonna scrape you off their heels like you was dog shit."_

_Daryl was nodding off, any fight he had left in him retreating with the seeming truth of Merle's words. Hadn't this been what his brother was telling him his whole life, that he was nothing and he might as well roll with it?_

_"HEY," Merle said, putting his hand to Daryl's jaw and snapping him back to attention. "They ain't your kin, your blood. If you have any nuts in that sack of yours, you go back and you shoot your pal Rick in the face for me. Now you listen to me - ain't nobody ever gonna care about you 'cept me, little brother. Ain't nobody ever will," Merle said, a trace of sadness in his voice._

_"Come on, get up on your feet before I have to kick your teeth in," he finished, any sincerity he might have been exuding quickly gone. Daryl prepared to reach for his hand when he heard some weird noise in his ears. What was that? It sounded so far away and yet it seemed like it might be really important..._

"DARYL! Daryl, please - please wake up!" he heard, squinting against the sun in his eyes. The franticness in Mercedes voice didn't really register, but something playing with his foot did. Was Merle back, waking him up? No...panic swept through his body at the sight of the zombie biting his boot. He reacted on instinct and kicked the zombie in the head with his other foot, a sickening crunch his only reward. Another wet growl alerted them to a zombie shuffling towards them.

"I've got this one!" Mercedes yelled, scrambling towards the stick Daryl had used to find his crossbow earlier. Speaking of that...Daryl yanked his crossbow from the ground where it had fallen and without a moment's hestitation yanked the arrow lodged in his side out and flew down on his ass to pull back the string on the bow. The zombie was so close and now it wasn't just about him. He had to protect Mercedes too.

_"Ain't nobody ever gonna care about you 'cept me, little brother..."_

He shoved the thought away and finally latched the arrow into place, leveling the crossbow with his shoulder and laying on his back as the zombie growled over him. The sound of the arrow squelching through brain matter was like a lullaby and he let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Mercedes was panting, the front of her t-shirt covered in blood, the zombie underneath her beaten to a bloody pulp by the stick in her hands. She wiped the back of her hand across her forehead and dropped the stick, gasping for air.

She couldn't believe they'd gotten out of that. At that point she didn't even care what Daryl had seen when he'd been in and out of conciousness. She'd ask him later. For now she just wanted out of this mess!

"Hey, can you help me?" she heard Daryl ask. If it had been any other time her jaw might have dropped to the floor at his request for help but instead she wordlessly took the rolled up shirt and pressed it to him as he tied the bandage around himself again.

"Son of a bitch was right..." he said under his breath. She stared at him quizzically but he shrugged off her glance and looked back to the cliff. She was too tired to press the issue.

"I need to eat something before I try to climb that," he said. Mercedes eyes bugged out of her head and then she just laughed. Only Daryl Dixon would fall down a cliff twice, take an arrow to the back, rip it out of himself, defeat two walkers...and then get hungry.

When she realized what he was going to eat her stomach rolled over. Spearing some raw squirrel kidney on his knife he held it out to her.

"Want some?" he asked politely, blood smeared over his mouth.

"No, thanks," she said squeamishly. There wasn't much in the world that made her squeamish, but eating raw squirrel was definitely one of those things. When he was done he threw the carcass into the river and brushed his hands off on his pants. Mercedes had been sitting on the edge of the sandback to rest and felt a little better, a little more capable of the climb ahead of them. She watched Daryl, wondering why he was staring at the zombies like that...

When he started cutting their ears off she got a little concerned. When she put them on a string and tied it around his neck, a smug expression on his face...she just smiled.

"Is it wierd that the whole bloody mouth and zombie-ear necklace thing is totally hot?" she asked.

"Probably," he said, jibing her but smiling devilishly.

"Let's do this," she said, grabbing a tree and hoisting herself up. It was a few silent minutes of climbing before they were both winded again. The entire day was taking its toll and the top seemed to only be getting farther away. Daryl's injury was slowing his progress significantly and eventually Mercedes stuck her hand out again to help him. Buzzards were making their eerie cries overhead, making the shadows flicker as they passed in front of the sun. When they were almost at the top, so close she could feel her heart pounding in excitment, she heard Daryl talking to himself again...

_"Please don't feed the bird..." Merle's teasing voice said, his face suddenly appeared over the ridge of the cliff. "What's the matter Daryl-enna? That all you got in you?"_

_"I did better when you was missin'," Daryl said, struggling with creepers and Mercedes helping hand._

_"Now come on, don't be like that! I'm on your side."_

_"Yeah, since when?"_

_"Hell, since the day you were born baby brother. Somebody had to look after your worthless ass," Merle retorted, his gaze raking over Mercedes. "And what about this bitch over here? You think she really likes you? Or do you think she sees some dumb, stupid redneck who's good for a laugh and not much else?"_

_"You never took care of me! Talked a big game but you was never there! And you ain't here now - some things never change. And you shut the hell up about Mercedes..." he trailed off, a finger of worry trailing up his spine. What if Merle was right?_

_"Tell you what - I'm as real as your Chupacabra..."_

_"I know what I saw!"_

_"Yeah, and I'm sure those mushrooms you ate had nothing to do with it, right?" Merle taunted._

_"You best shut the hell up!" Daryl shouted back with the most emotion Merle had heard from him that day._

_"Or what? You gonna come up here and shut my mouth for me? Well come and do it then if you think you man enough! HEY! Kick off them high heels and climb son. You know, if I was you I'd take pause for the cause brother, 'cause I just don't think you gonna make it to the top. Come on, come on little brother - grab your friend Rick's hand."_

Mercedes was surprised when Daryl suddenly climbed of his own volition, a sudden burst of fury that carried him up and over the top of the cliff huffing angrily at some imaginary enemy.

"Yeah, you better run!" he yelled, glaring into the woods.

"Daryl...who are you screaming at?" she asked, hauling herself up and rolling onto her back.

"Merle...didn't you hear him ?" Daryl replied, frantic.

"No..." Mercedes said, worry thick in her voice. Had he lost his mind?

"Whatever..." he said, stomping off in the direction of camp. They had a long walk ahead of them.

* * *

><p>When the reached the treeline it was like a miracle. They could finally...finally stop walking. Daryl did not look good...covered in sweat, dirt, squirrel blood, and copious amounts of his own blood he looked a lot like a Walker. She assumed she didn't look great either. They stumbled out into the open and Mercedes could have cried for the joy of seeing the RV and the tents in camp. The sun was beginning to set, the glare in Mercedes eyes burning and painful. She had her fill of pain today, thanks very much.<p>

She looked to Daryl and saw his hand clutching the doll they'd found that day. It was their first sign of hope in ages, and it had come at such a price. They both could had died in that river, gasping their final sad breaths in the sand. But they hadn't and now they had something to go on. This notion, combined with the idea of being so close to camp, left Mercedes feeling oddly euphoric, a sensation she could contribute in part to the blood loss from the wound on her back.

She was distracted by the sound of yells and pounding footsteps. She looked up to see men running at them. Shane...Rick...Glenn...T-Dog...man they were fast. They slowed as they approached, Rick holding his revolver up cautiously. They must look like hell - all four men looked terrified. However, relief was etched quickly on their faces at the realization it was just two of their own. Sinking to place thier palms on their knees they began to catch their breath. Daryl it seemed, had some kind of grudge that had flared up that day and he squared his shoulders at Rick.

"It's about time you pointed that thing at my head - you gonna pull the trigger or what?"

Mercedes opened her mouth to tell him it was okay when a shot pierced her ears. Daryl whipped around in a circle, blown by the force of something. She put the sound and the motion together and for a second everything seemed to be in slow-motion. She fell to her knees and crawled over to him, registering nothing but a line of blood on the side of his head.

She started screaming...screaming...screaming. She could hear Rick yelling (NO! NO!) but none of it mattered. After this week and all that had happened and how she'd let herself go and admit that this man did something to her. After what they'd shared in the woods today...all the things she still wanted to say to him. She just couldn't stop screaming.

She was pulled off Daryl by strong arms and she heard the words "It's okay, he's alive...it didn't get him..." She immediately quieted, looking to see Daryl's chest rising and falling and his eyelids fighting to stay open.

"I was kidding!" he said wearily, and then he passed out. Mercedes started laughing hysterically and then, she too, faded to black.

* * *

><p>When she came to she was lying on a bed. There were voices, familiar ones, all around her. She forced her groggy eyes open and took in the scene around her. Daryl was lying behind her on his side, wincing every once in a while as Hershel cleaned the arrow wound. Rick had the grid map laid out on the bed over Mercedes thighs. At least her passed out form hadn't been in the way, she thought. Shane was sitting in a chair looking particularly grim. Daryl was explaining exactly where they'd found the doll to an excited Rick.<p>

She heard Hershel say something about the antibiotics and leave the room. He didn't appear happy but Mercedes couldn't bring herself to be bothered. These days it seemed like Hershel was always annoyed about one thing or another. Her back was in pain and she wished Rick would take the map off her legs so she could roll onto her side. Thankfully, whether by reading her mind or because they'd been at it so long they no longer needed it, Rick did just so and Mercedes turned onto her right side so she was facing Rick and Shane.

"Mercedes, we were just saying how great this is for the hunt for Sophia - tomorrow we can go out and search in this area. It'll be a more focused search..." Rick said, trying to quell the earnest hope in his voice. It was painful to see.

With a smile from Rick and a tense nod from Shane the two men left the room to let the injured rest. With a wince Mercedes rolled over onto her left side. She could feel the wide swath of bandages across her back - it'd probably be a wicked scar when it healed. She didn't really mind though. To her, scars were just proof of something you'd risen and overcome. In their own way they were beautiful.

Daryl reached out a hand as if reading her mind - was she emoting her thoughts today or something? - and touched the scar that ran light-pink across her upper lip.

"What's that from?" he asked.

"Little dog. Bit me in the face - my lip split when its tooth went in," she said, shaking her head. She could clearly remember putting her hand to her mouth and coming away with a palm full of blood, slicking her tongue up to feel the damage and finding a wide crack. She could distinctly remember thinking she'd have a wierd crooked lip the rest of her life. It had been surprisingly painless (except for the stitching...the doctor said anesthesia would cause her lips to swell and they'd be uneven when the stitching was complete) but had left a delicate scar that she felt whenever she was...kissing Daryl...

"And this one?" he said, pointing to the much larger one from her jaw to her shoulder blade.

"I fell off a horse and ended up falling on a metal barrel. You know, like the barrel racing shit? Yeah, it had a sharp edge and cut me. The doctor said it's a wonder it didn't cut my neck right open," she said, grimacing at the mental image of dying in the arena, the sand soaking up her blood.

"Oh, I thought it'd be some weird nature thing again," Daryl said, smirking.

"Oh screw you!" she said feebly, her eyes closing against her will as she drifted back off to sleep.

It wasn't quite as easy for Daryl to fall asleep however. He was incredibly tired but too many disturbing thoughts were whirring in his brain. Had he actually seen Merle today, or had it been a hallucination? Mercedes hadn't seen him but she HAD been helping him drag his ass up the hill.

But even more troubling were the things he had said. They were ideas, preconcieved notions that Merle had hammered into Daryl's brain his whole life until he knew nothing but the things Merle wanted him to know. When Merle had disappeared Daryl had his first chance to really look at the world on his own, to see things the way they were. Yeah, they probably saw him as some redneck freak. But couldn't he change that? Couldn't he be useful and break out of the mold the world had tried to cast for him?

But what IF Merle was right? He was older than Daryl, had seen more...maybe he just knew. But that couldn't be right...things were changing. He wouldn't even go near the idea of Mercedes playing him. If Merle was right about that...

He fell asleep with that disturbing thought playing along his brain.

* * *

><p>When he woke up again his head was on Mercedes' lap. She was sitting up, her back against the headboard with a book open in her hands, flipping lazily through the pages. It was dark out now and Daryl guessed he'd been out for less than two hours. One of Mercedes' hands had its fingers tangled lazily in his hair. He startled up, putting his head on the pillow it had started on. It wasn't that he hadn't felt warm...comfortable...he just didn't know how to react to that! What the fuck man!<p>

Mercedes ignored the reaction. She had grown accustomed to his strange reactions to affection and didn't take it as an offense. It was, perhaps, one of the reasons they got along the way they did - she wasn't easily offended, a very important personality trait when it came to dealing with Daryl Dixon.

"Can I ask you a question?" she asked, closing the book and letting it fall in her lap.

"You just did," he said.

"Harhar. Did you...see Merle in the woods today?" she asked.

"Yeah, I did. What of it?" he asked defensively, hearing the worried tone in her voice.

"I don't know, you were just carrying on this whole conversation with someone I couldn't see so it was a little freaky!"

The confirmation that his brother hadn't really been there didn't really surprise Daryl, but was still a knife in the gut. For a minute he thought he'd had him back...

The door opened on the two of them and Carol's sad doe-eyes took them in. She had a smile on her face and for the first time since Mercedes had known her she looked a little hopeful. She was caring a tray with food on it which she placed on the side table.

"I brought you guys some dinner. You must be starving," she said, her voice quiet but warm. She was looking at both of them so kindly, as if by finding the doll they'd given her a new lease on life. She leaned over to kiss Daryl on the cheek, looking distinctly motherly as she did so. She smiled to Mercedes and put a hand to her shoulder, radiating her thanks. Daryl just looked alarmed and confused.

"What's wrong with the stitches?" he asked, trying to act as if Carol had been looking at the cut on his head. Mercedes had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from laughing. Carol stoically ignored the comment and instead looked at Daryl with new, steely eyes.

"Daryl, you need to know something. You did more for my little girl today than her own Daddy ever did in his whole life," Carol said, tears welling in her eyes. Daryl was incredibly uncomfortable. People didn't say things like that to him...what did he say back? Mercedes was sitting quietly, smiling at Carol. She knew that that older woman's thanks extended to her too, but she also knew that Daryl needed to hear this more than she did. He needed to know he meant something.

"Didn't do anything anyone else wouldn't a' done..." he replied, shifting uncomfortably.

"I know," Carol said. "You're every bit as good as them. Every bit," and with that she smiled and left the room.

Daryl couldn't make his eyes meet Mercedes. They were silent, Daryl absorbing the first kind thing he'd heard from the group in...ever, really. When a few minutes before Mercedes said something.

"What did you and Merle talk about?" Daryl looked at her, trying to see if she was making fun of him. She looked interested and her face wasn't hiding a laugh.

"He made me get up. Told me I should shoot Rick in his face and have done with the group because none of them will care about me like he does," he said. Since when he had gotten so honest and forthright? Mercedes eyes narrowed.

"Do you believe him?"

"I...I don't know! Its what I grew up with, thinking that no one else mattered because they think I'm dog shit. But everything is different now..." he exclaimed.

"What'd he say about me?" she asked quietly. She'd heard her name mentioned and it had been nagging at the back of her mind.

"Not gonna talk about that," Daryl stubbornly replied, refusing to allow the subject to enter his own mind.

"Fine," Mercedes snapped. "But whatever he said, it's not true. He doesn't know me," she said, surprising herself by talking about Merle as if he was actually around.

Daryl desperately wanted to believe that. It gave him a sense of purpose to have someone to protect, who depended on him. All his life he'd been the bane of Merle's existance, his little brother he had to look out for and teach to be a man. But now Mercedes needed him. He felt her fingers wind between his and for the first time he responded and held her hand without hesitation.

"Will you take me out on your bike one of these days?" she asked, smiling. She'd always wanted to ride on a motorcycle.

He was just about to answer with a resounding yes when a door banging open caught their attention. There were loud voices, yelling, angry...

"Look what I found skulkin' around outside," they could hear Shane yelling. Both were about to struggle out of bed despite Hershel's orders to see what the commotion was when the door to their room exploded open and the commotion came to them.

A man with buzzed hair and a wide face leered at them, his leather vest ragged and worn. He resembled Daryl very vaguely...and he was missing a hand...

"I come back and find you in bed with a piece of ass? Times do change, little brother," said the man.

Merle was back.

* * *

><p><strong>YEAH DUDE! My theory is that although he's really wierd about affection and not sure how to react to it, Daryl would be a pretty awesome lover because he's very animalistic. It would just be kind of natural because he's such a primal person. But he's still gotta get used to affectionate stuff! I hope you all liked the twist at the end - I can't wait to get the next chapter written! IT'S GONNA BE DRAMA-VILLE in the best way possible. I cut out the part I had planned with Lori because this chapter ended up being really long even without it.<strong>

**Thanks to all my awesome-sauce reviewers! I'm gonna have to start PMing replies to you guys because the word count for this story is RIDICULOUS by itself, let alone with the added words from my replies. But we'll do it this time. :D**

**twilightcity: Thanks! The action of it is fun to write. Even in this chapter where all the action was already pre-written I had fun writing it from my own perspective.**

**CrazyFoxyCookie: Thanks! What I love about is that any fan can take the universe they love and put their own spin on it. I like reading stories where Daryl is not in character sometimes because we're all entitled to our fiction here! But for sure I wanted to make my Daryl realistic because he was the character I fell in love with on the show. I hope I continue to live up to your expectations!**

**Leyshla: Ah! Thank you! These reviews go directly to the email that goes to my phone and I got it while I was at work and it made me smile! I'm so glad you enjoy the story so much. I hope you don't mind that it wasn't Shane/Lori type stuff in the woods. But I wanna save that stuff for a later date so we when we get there we can really enjoy it! hehe! Thank you so much for sticking with me as we get to the good parts - it means a lot!**

**SilverMirror: Thanks! I'm pleased with where it's going to; the thing about writing is that eventually it runs away from me and takes itself wherever it feels like! I'm glad you liked the chapter and hope you enjoyed this one as well. Thanks for sticking with me!**

**Dalonega Noquisi: Thanks for your kind review! I'm glad you like my Daryl, and I'm REALLY glad you enjoyed that line. I LOVE horror movies and whenever the girl does the cliche trip-while-being-chased-by-monster I inwardly groan. I had to include it! Thanks again!**

**NEXT TIME: Lori and Mercedes have a strange talk, Glenn hatches a plan, and what the hell is going on with Merle's return? **


	6. Trouble Brewing

**Sorry it's been longer than usual since the last update! Finals and the holidays caught up to me but I'm sure you all know how that is!**

**Expect lots of updates since I'm allowed to be a lazy bum now guys! We have another month and a half of being Walking Dead-less, but we can totally survive it. Here's Chapter 6 - I hope you enjoy it! I shortened it up just a little bit since I noticed my chapters tend to be freakishly long - will you guys let me know if you preferred the longer or shorter chapters? Thanks! **

**I hope everyone had a good holiday! Enjoy the chapter! :)**

"Merle?" Daryl asked, his voice trailing off in disbelief.

"Don't act too happy to see me," the older man replied, dragging a chair from the corner of the room and sinking into it like it was the first time he'd sat in months. Mercedes picked up that same undercurrent of violence in Merle that she felt from Daryl, but it was different. Merle seemed as if he truly didn't care who walked across his swath of dirty words and cruel insults where Daryl just kept to himself and had his fists and insults ready if he needed them. She could see where he'd gotten it though, for sure.

"Where you been?" Daryl asked.

"Could be askin' you the same thing, but I see what kept you now," Merle replied, sneering. "Pretty cozy here. Safe. Would have been nice to bring Old Merle along..." He looked at Mercedes then, eyeing her with a leer that might have sent women in the bars she was sure he used to frequent into fits. It probably pissed a lot of other women off. Mercedes just smiled back. "Why don't you come over here and sit with me, sugar?"

"I'm alright, thanks," she replied, still smiling. She found him kind of funny, really. She could see where some women might find his attitude repugnent but Mercedes didn't see a point in defending a woman's rights to him. He was stuck in his ways and besides, she didn't really mind.

"Suit yourself," Merle said, the leer still there. It was just his nature. He looked back to his younger brother. "So, what's the deal Daryl? Left me to die so you could move on and get all cozy and safe here? Leave your brother behind like he was trash?"

Daryl felt a sense of deja-vu - didn't he just have this conversation with Merle earlier? (No...no you idiot that was all in your head, some fever-dream...)

"Ain't like that," Daryl replied indignantly. "We went back and you'd already cut your fuckin' hand off and left. If you'd had any patience you would have been here with us the whole time..."

Merle lifted his handless arm up, studying the stump. The skin had come back shiny and red but it appeared otherwise to have healed nicely. "I don't know, I don't really mind it. Probably get me tons of ladies," he joked, a big grin on his face. The grin disintegrated in front of their eyes into an expression of anger that startled Mercedes. "But you left me for dead up there and I'd never have gotten the chance to put this fucking stump to use if you'd have your way," he growled.

"Yeah, you did the same fuckin' thing to me! You KNEW that truck belonged to us but you took it anyway and left us in Atlanta to die!" Daryl replied, his voice rising louder.

"An eye for an eye brother - don't you remember anything I taught you?"

"Yeah, and I remember you telling me over and over when I was younger that ain't nobody gonna care about me but you. So where did that go?"

Mercedes could feel the fury emanating off Daryl and the way Merle was smiling calmly was only making it worse. If she didn't defuse the situation Daryl was going to hurt himself trying to attack Merle. She could already see spots of blood staining the bandage around his head from the strain he was putting on his stitches.

"Guys, could we cool it? The situation was shitty - nobody could have done exactly what they wanted. So just forget it - you can't change it now," she pleaded, crawling over Daryl to sit on the edge of the bed between Merle and Daryl.

"You know, you're kinda freaky lookin' with the eyes and the scars? It's just like my litte baby brother to settle for the damaged goods," Merle said, a predatory gleam in his eyes.

With a roar she didn't think him capable of in his injured state she felt Daryl flying off the bed towards Merle.

"Stop, STOP!" she started screaming, pain ripping through her back as she jumped up in between them, her hands out to stop them from beating the shit out of each other. The two of them stopped mid-punch to glare at her, Daryl's arm flexing in anticipation of connecting with his brother's jaw. "Look, next time you're trying to get on Daryl's nerves leave me out of it. Your insults are kind of stupid right after you ask me to come sit on you..." Mercedes said to Merle, who merely smiled in amusement as a response.

To Daryl she said nothing. If she told him that he needed to lay down it was only going to give Merle another chance to torture him - taking orders from a girl? Honestly it was like the two of them were five years old.

By then the rest of the group had come to the door to make sure nobody was about to be murdered. Seeing the short little Mercedes between two tall, angry men must have been comical if not a little concerning. Shrugging her shoulders and exiting the space between the two men she grabbed half a sandwich from the platter Carol had brought them and plunked her butt back down on the bed. She hadn't realized how hungry she was.

"Gonna sleep out in the truck," Merle grunted.

"Good, you can keep Kane company. Hershel doesn't like him in the house, something about his tail knocking everything over..." Mercedes answered.

"Tail?" Merle said. He caught the meaning but was surprised. Few animals had been taken along during people's long journeys away from civilization.

"Yup, big old pitbull that found me along the way. He's friendly but you'll have to introduce yourself."

"Pitbull, hmm? Knew there was something I liked about you besides your ass," Merle said, slapping his hand on the doorframe as a farewell and clomping in his boots down the hallway.

When a few moments had passed Mercedes tore her sandwich in half and passed some to Daryl.

"He's charming, your brother," she said, smiling.

"He's about as charming as Kane's shits..." Daryl grumbled, wolfing down the sandwich and putting his head back on the pillow. Mercedes burst out laughing and had to slap her hand over her mouth to prevent disturbing the entire house.

Despite the fact that the first thing they'd done was fight - a particularly nasty one at that - Daryl was glad to have his brother back. It had been eating at him that he hadn't done enough to help Merle. In the back of his mind he knew it would make trouble. Merle would have none of helping a group he didn't see a point in helping since he didn't believe in a million years they'd help him. But Daryl wasn't going to worry about it. All he wanted was sleep.

It was blissfully dreamless.

* * *

><p>They both slept through target practice the next morning but neither really minded. Both felt comfortable enough in their skill to skip the session, though Mercedes doubted they would have been allowed even if they had tried to go.<p>

The cut on her back cracked and stung as she shifted onto her side and she winced, halting for a second and then gritting her teeth for the final push to sit up on the edge of the bed. She looked to the antique clock hanging in the room and realized they'd slept a full fifteen hours - it was 12pm! She supposed that the previous day's events would take it out of anyone but it was still a luxury - when you depended on a daylight for not only the light to get things done, but for your safety, you tended to use all you could get.

Hershel was in the kitchen looking frustrated when she padded out of the bedroom. He heard her and turned around, a tight smile on his face.

"Hi Hershel - trying to figure something out for lunch?" she asked, smiling.

"As a matter of fact, yes," he said, no humor in his eyes though the reply was said kindly. Something was bothering the man but Mercedes, for some reason, heard the little voice in the back of her head that was warning her not to ask.

"I've got some cans of chicken soup we found when we cleared that house out of walkers a few days ago. We can heat them up? It's the least I can do after you helped Daryl and I," she said, slipping her shoes on as he nodded in agreement. He looked slightly more cheerful at the thought of food. He was about to protest about her making the short trip to the truck but she was out the screen door before the words had even formed in his mouth.

* * *

><p>She found Merle scrounging around in the cab of the truck as she approached, going so far as to throw a wrench out of it and swear loudly. Kane was sitting by the tire, looking at Mercedes as if she shouldn't be asking him why the human was acting so weird.<p>

"Lose your tampons, Merle?" she asked, leaning up against the truck. The walk had taken a bit more out of her than she'd expected. Hershel must not have been exagerrating when he'd explained how much blood she'd lost.

"Haha," the older man said, mumbling something that definitely contained the words "bitch" and "stupid" though she couldn't hear its exact configuration.

"No, but really, what are you doing?"

"Looking for things I lost when we got seperated," he answered, clearly not wanting to go into detail. Mercedes didn't really care - and thought she might have a good idea of what he wanted, but she wasn't going to tell him where his bag full of pills was because it was just too much fun watching him struggle - so she just grabbed two cans of the soup she was looking for and headed back in the direction of the house, Kane laying his head on his paws as if laughing at the man beside him.

Winding through the tents Mercedes looked for any of the camp members. They must have gone out looking again because almost no one was in sight besides Lori who...looked more excited than usual to see Mercedes. There was a desperation in the way her fingers were wringing together as she waved that Mercedes didn't like, but she made her way over anyway.

"Mercedes, I..." Lori began, trailing off and biting her lip. Mercedes stomach was beginning to perform some impressive acrobatics at the sight - whatever this was, it was very, very bad. That was the only reason Lori was coming to her as she'd never made any indication that she'd liked Mercedes before.

"Just tell me," she said, trying to swallow the anxiety in her throat.

"I'm pregnant," Lori blurted. Mercedes stomach stopped flipping and instead died. The thought of pregnancy was terrifying to her - the thought of something growing inside her...she was getting nauseous just thinking abo ut it. But even stronger than her knee-jerk reaction was the fear of what this would mean for the group and for Lori and Rick. Bringing a kid into this world...it wouldn't be fair to the baby by any means though Mercedes could see reasons for bringing it. There was always hope.

"Who else knows?"

"Glenn, he got a pregnancy test for me on the last pharmacy run," Lori said, pressing the back of her wrist to her mouth to control the tears she wanted to let go. "I need you...I need you to ask him to run out there again. I can't face him with this. It's bad enough that I need him to risk his life again, but for this?"

"What are you talking about?" Mercedes asked, scared of the finality in Lori's tone.

"I need him to get morning after pills, a lot of them."

Mercedes knew what she was asking, but she didn't judge her. It seemed pointless. Nothing was as it should have been. The rules were different and that made this different.

"So you want me to ask him?"

"Yes, I can't look in his eyes and ask him to do it again but I'm trapped," Lori answered, turning away to sob quietly into her arm.

Mercedes touched a hand to the woman's back and then got up and walked away. It wasn't until she got to the screen door that she realized that not only had Lori ignored her until she had needed Mercedes for something, but it was the kind of request that would weigh on her conscience should something happen to Glenn as she had been made a part of it. Had she not been so desperate to eat and take a shower she might have turned around and told Lori where to stick her morning-after pills.

* * *

><p>Hershel said he'd heat the soup while she took a shower. She thanked him profusely and bolted upstairs, enjoying the sting on her cut despite how badly it hurt. By the time she'd gotten back downstairs she had a bowl waiting and Daryl was leaning over the table shoveling soup into his mouth. Hershel was watching the display with an expression halfway between amusement and good-natured disgust. Mercedes just smiled.<p>

The meal passed quietly but pleasantly, Hershel reading through some veterinary text and explaining how bovine and equine science had its complexities despite the seeming similarities between animals. Mercedes was fascinated, having always loved horses, but Daryl felt like falling asleep in his soup.

Daryl and Hershel seemed more satisfied with something in their stomachs, especially Hershel who seemed to have enjoyed talking about something other than his dislike of weapons on his farm and what his policies should be regarding the survivors. Mercedes however, was not so content. She was toying with the idea of telling Daryl about Lori but it didn't feel right. But at the same time, Lori hadn't been very kind to her.

Daryl made the decision for her when he went back to bed and passed out as soon as he hit the pillow. The man could certainly sleep.

Mercedes pushed open the screen door and locked around for Glenn. It didn't take long to notice him sitting in the chair on top of the RV, binoculars to his face as he scanned the perimeter of the farm. Mercedes crossed her arms and paced across the front yard, thinking maybe if she moved quickly she wouldn't have as much time to wonder whether or not it was a good decision to include herself. She supposed now she didn't have a choice. Either way she was to be part of the blame for something, whether it were Glenn getting hurt or the guilt of bringing a child into a world that held nothing in store for it.

She found herself resenting Lori more and more every minute. If she thought about it more maybe it wasn't Lori but the situation itself she were mad at. What would she have done in Lori's position? Well, she knew she wouldn't be sitting on her ass asking for hand-outs and favors that would likely get everyone killed. But she couldn't hate Lori - the situation wasn't good for anyone. She felt like she was saying that about everything.

She climbed up to the top of the RV and smiled at Glenn who seemed rather pensive and withdrawn. She didn't think she could handle any more secrets so instead she just said exactly what she needed to.

"Lori wants you to get her some morning-after pills at the pharmacy," she blurted.

Glenn was quiet, staring off into the fields. He seemed alternately unsurprised and horrified by the request. When he spoke, it was quiet and sad.

"I'll go get them. I'll take Maggie with me," he answered. Mercedes wasn't so sure taking Maggie was a good idea but she honestly didn't care anymore either. Putting her hand out for the rifle she agreed to watch the rest of Glenn's shift on top of the RV and watched him walk off in the direction of the house to get Maggie.

* * *

><p>An hour later and no zombie sightings and Mercedes was finding herself incredibly bored and with too much time to think. Her back was beginning to ache painfully and the humidity was getting to her already exhausted mind.<p>

It didn't help when Merle paced by, looking up at her and smiling ruefully.

"Didn't know we let the women guard the camp now," he said. Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"Did you know that sometimes women are good at things? Besides cooking and cleaning, that is?"

"I don't know, seems strange to me," Merle shot back, obviously enjoying pushing her buttons. Mercedes suspected that he wasn't that womanizing but was saying things to get under her skin intentionally.

"Look Merle, do you have something important or intelligent or - god forbid - nice to say? Because otherwise I'm not really interested," Mercedes said, blinking the fog of pain and exhaustion out of her eyes. Merle surprised her when he was suddenly in front of her. He must have climbed the ladder like a fucking monkey!

"I wanted to say that if you fuck with my brother - and I don't mean with his heart because I don't give a fuck about that - you're gonna have me to answer to. And I can guarentee I ain't as nice as everyone else around here," Merle threatened, his breath like cigarettes and death.

* * *

><p><strong>So this is a little chapter with not much action to prepare you for Chapter 7. Lots and LOTS of drama next chapter - I'm REALLY excited about writing it. It's going to be out Wednesday since I feel bad for making you guys wait for so long and then having this short little chapter. AND BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE EPIC.<strong>

**I know I had a summary of this chapter at the end of the last one but then I had an idea and it ran away with me so I had to change things up a little! But really, next time: Glenn and Maggie go to the pharmacy and find a surprise besides the zombie hiding in the counter, Merle's threat weighs on Mercedes' mind, some Daryl/Mercedes stuff (-eyebrowwiggle-) and some drama-sauce goes down with Lori's situation!**

**Thanks again to all my reviewers - I've sent PM's out to all of you. Leyshla, I wish I could send you PM's but since you don't have an account I can't; I just want you to know that I appreciate every single review you've given. They're always very thoughtful and encouraging!**

**Lastly, check out the story I'm co-authoring with 'akingwithnocrown' (who has a fabulous RickxOC story out) about two dangerous women who attempt to tear apart the group. Will the survivors realize it in time?**

**Let me know whether you liked the length of this chapter or would like me to keep on going with longer chapters. Thanks for reading, and see you on Wednesday!**


	7. Newcomers

**Welcome back - hope the last two days have been good to everyone! PM's went out to all my lovely reviewers - can't express how much I love you guys!**

_**This chapter is dedicated to Leyshla Gisel who always has a kind word for me! You're wonderful!**_

* * *

><p>The way Mercedes saw it, she could either reply with something equally as threatening, bow down under Merle's weight, or just shrug it off. She hated all of the options.<p>

"Merle, what the fuck are you talking about?"

"I'm saying by pretending to give two shits about him you're pulling him away from what really matters. You don't really care and neither does any other shit excuse for a human being in this camp. So you'd do better to forget anything that's happened and leave him to me," Merle said. In a moment of perfect clarity she understood what Daryl had been rattling on about during his hallucinations in the forest.

She wasn't completely familiar with the redneck culture, being from New York City originally before relocating to Atlanta. But she could gather that they kept to themselves and it was ALL about family, a type of people who distrusted outsiders on principle.

"Look, I'm going to be really honest with you. I don't know how long you were with these guys before you disapperared - or were left behind WHATEVER" she interrupted herself as Merle's face went red at the implication that cutting his hand off and staying behind in Atlanta had been of his own volition. "But I think they actually do care. Sure, some more than others. But we're all in this together and its easier to survive if we're looking after each other. You and Daryl don't make it easy on yourselves, coming in with that attitude. But you should have seen everyone's reactions after Daryl got shot...they were genuinely distraught. And I'm sure if you weren't such an asshole all the time they might like you a little more too," Mercedes finished, trying to keep the look of fear off her face as Merle processed her speech. Rick had told her about the episode on the roof in Atlanta - if Merle could fight off multiple men he could definitely defend himself against Mercedes. She didn't even feel safe with the rifle in her hands.

"Yeah, well if you get him killed because he cared...I'll kill you," he said, sliding down the ladder and walking away.

She took a deep breath, letting the fear out of her face. She had no doubt that Merle was as good as his word, but she wasn't too worried either. She wasn't going to let Daryl die if she had anything to do about it! And, she thought, maybe...just maybe...Merle might come around some day too.

Not that it would matter. Even if some day he allowed himself to care she really doubted he was ever gonna be sunshine and daises.

* * *

><p>Glenn hadn't liked what Mercedes had said to him on top of the RV. He didn't want to be out here now, riding next to Maggie and feeling the chill of her cold shoulder. It was so cold that he was sure he could see frost forming on the grass her horse's hooves touched. But of course he was just imagining it. He thinks...<p>

But he - infinitely kind and unable to turn a blind eye when someone he cared about was in need - couldn't live with himself if he said no. Even though he might not live every time he tried one of these runs. He supposed either way he was putting himself in danger. In an attempt to warm up the atmosphere between them he prodded Maggie into conversation.

"You didn't have to come," he said. He get nothing in response but her stony expression and the angry sway of her hips as she moved with her horse. "Say something, please?" Nothing. "Maggie, I -"

"I asked for your trust and you betrayed it! And my Dad's pissed at me! Your turn," she replied, though he wasn't sure what she was expecting in return. It wasn't as if he meant to learn the secret Hershel kept in the barn.

He grimaced at the memory of agreeing to meet Maggie for another rendezvous. Thinking he would be creative he suggested the hayloft. He could clearly remember the sudden, inescapable terror when he discovered the shuffling group of walkers. He'd slept so close to them...

"So...your Dad thinks they're sick? Do you agree with that? Even after what you saw at the well?" he asked, attempting to avert her attention to something else.

"I'm not sure what I saw at the well!" she replied, her voice adamant but her face giving away a sliver of doubt about the truth of her father's beliefs.

"Yes, you are! If you had seen Atlanta you would not have a barn full of walkers!"

"I wish you'd stop calling them that!"

"What do you call them?" Glenn asked, trying once more to lessen her temper by placating her. It seemed he could say nothing right.

"Mom, Sean! Mr. and Mrs. Fisher! Lacey, Duncan!"

Glenn was silent as she headed into the store. She just couldn't understand with how isolated she was. She hadn't seen what he'd seen. She hadn't seen bullets slicing through zombies without downing them, hadn't seen family members succumb to fever only to wake up and eat their own flesh and blood. It wasn't like she thought but he didn't know how to convince her either. Instead he just went into the store after her, pulling the tattered grocery list out of his pocket. Way too much was being asked of him today.

"What does she want now?" Maggie asked, her voice impatient.

"Can't say."

"So one of THEM asks you to keep your mouth shut..."

Glenn gave her a withering look, holding the grocery list out for her to take if she needed to know so badly. "Crawl out of my butt and help me look please?" he asked, smiling to soften the snarkiness of the comment but still meaning it a little. She just wouldn't let it go. She glanced at the list and narrowed her eyes.

"You've GOT to be kidding me!" She stuffed the list into her jeans and moved to the back counter, walking behind it and beginning to search through pill bottles. Glenn, having thankfully never needed experience with the morning-after pill, probably would have spent a lot more time searching. While she narrowed down to one area he began sifting through the rest of what had been left behind for items anyone from camp might need.

It wasn't more than a minute or two before a loud growl and a short scream pierced the silence and Glenn looked up to find disgusting, rotted arms reaching through a shelf towards Maggie.

"Glenn, help me!" Maggie screamed, fighting back with all she had. Wasting no time, Glenn ran towards the counter, his brain immediately formulating ways to use everything around him as a weapon. He grabbed a wooden plank, not entirely sure what he'd do with it until the last second. He slammed the edge of the shelf into the zombie, cutting through it's jugular and sending black, putrid blood spraying against the pharmacy wall.

Maggie was moaning in fear, clutching herself and grabbing onto Glenn as the zombie lay dead (finally) on the floor. He put his hands on her arms, checking her over for bites. All he could think was that he was so, so happy that she was alive. It was so stupid to fight over something when they had to fight merely to stay alive. He'd try to make her feel better, to make it right. He looked to her face, smiling to make her feel better but instead she just made him feel worse as her eyes widened and looked over his shoulder at something behind him.

The walker, it's head hanging to its body by a string, had gotten up and was heading straight for them. Glen pulled a small machete from his waistband, raising it in preperation. If someone had frozen his face in that moment it would have shown all the pain, desperation, and exhaustion of the past few months of his life in the clearest way possible. Couldn't these fucking things just leave them alone? (A better question was couldn't they have just never happened at all? Just go back to the way things were...)

But before he could wedge his machete in the geek's head a strangled war-cry came from between the shelves and a woman leaped at the zombie, sticking a knife in the severed neck Glenn had already created and cutting its head off once and for all. For good measure she shoved the knife with surprising strength into its brain, unwilling to suffer through the thing's moans and shrieks as it continued to try and eat them, even without its body.

When she turned to look at them Glenn was surprised - she couldn't be much older than him, Maggie, or Mercedes. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, her bangs sweeping over her right eye as she glanced down at the blood on her hands. She was short like Mercedes, though her build was slighter. She looked back to them, her dark brown, almond-shaped eyes crinkling at the corners as she waved her hands and indicated she was going to find somewhere to wash them. She was tan and looked like she had been roughing it for a while, her jeans barely clinging to her. Maggie and Glenn shared a glance as they waited for her to return, Glenn holding on to the machete in case the stranger was unhinged or something.

"So, hey," she said as she returned, wiping the water off her hands onto her jeans when she came back.

"Hi," Glenn said, looking at her quizzically. "I'm Glenn, this is Maggie." He avoided saying "my friend" or anything like that in front of Maggie - he doubted all was forgiven.

"Colette," the girl replied. "I just go by Lette though. What are you guys doing here?"

"Our group needed supplies, what are you doing here?" Maggie asked quickly.

"Group? How many of you are there?" Lette asked excitedly. "I was just looking for some place to sleep. I've napped here before and stayed safe. I guess not so much this time..."

"Our group is big actually, considering the circumstances. Do you want to come back with us?" Glenn asked. Oh, if Shane had been here...he could just hear the man berating him for inviting home a perfect stranger. But Lette didn't seem like too much of a threat in her current under-nourished state, and besides - she'd just saved their lives.

"Yes! Yeah, thanks! Can I help you guys look for anything before we go?" Lette asked, attempting to be helpful as payment for Glenn's offer.

"Yeah, actually," Maggie said, surprising Glenn. She pointed to the feminine hygeine aisle and Lette followed her, happy that she could be helpful. She doubted Maggie wanted very much to pick out this stuff with Glenn! She saw Maggie slip a box of pills into Glenn's backpack before they made their way over to the aisle in question, but Lette didn't think much of it.

It wasn't her business.

* * *

><p>It was another hour of sitting on top of the RV before Mercedes began to wonder what had happened to Glenn and Maggie. It they didn't come back within a half hour she'd have to raise the alarm. It shouldn't take more than two or three hours to run to the pharmacy and back unless something bad happened.<p>

She heard feet coming up the RV and immediately gripped the rifle tighter, thinking it was Merle coming back to finish the job after considering their conversation. Instead it was Daryl slowly scaling the RV. He plopped down next to Mercedes and put a hand to his aching head. Maybe he shouldn't have made the effort...

"Merle seems to think you've gone soft now that you care for the people in the camp," Mercedes said, looking at Daryl's face to gauge his reaction. He was an easy read, even to someone who didn't know him very well.

"I don't care about anyone here," he said, putting on the same voice he used around Merle to convince Mercedes that he truly didn't. He suddenly seemed to be choking on something, trying to bring up words that were stuck in his mouth. "Except you and Merle," he said, almost gagging on the words.

Aw, how sweet!

Mercedes didn't believe him for one second. If that were true he would have given up on Sophia a long time ago and he wouldn't have been so nice to Andrea after she'd almost killed him. But she wasn't going to push the issue either - it was majorly pointless.

They fell into an easy silence, both keeping watch on either side of the property. It wasn't very long before Daryl was nudging her and pointing in the direction of the dirt road that led up the side of the fields. Mercedes put the binoculars to her eyes and was delighted to see that it was Glenn and Maggie returning from the pharmacy! Glenn's backpack was slung around Maggie's shoulders and it looked full, a good sign. But why was it on Maggie?

Mercedes was completely surprised to see a woman sitting behind Glenn in the saddle, her hands hugging around his stomach to keep her balance. They were approaching quickly and Maggie looked INCREDIBLY pissed. Mercedes wondered if it was because the stranger's arms were around Glenn...though the new girl looked more apprehensive of falling and hitting the ground than happy to be close to Glenn...

The others started noticing the trio returning and got up to gather around the RV. They were all experiencing varying degress of apprehension and excitement and Mercedes found herself wondering if this is what it had been like when she had shown up.

"Hey everyone - everything is alright, we got a bunch of supplies!" Glenn said excitedly, clearly elated that everything had gone as well as planned despite the minor zombie hiccup. No need to mention that right away... Everyone was staring at the girl sitting behind him though.

"Hi - I'm Lette. Short for Colette," the stranger offered, smiling nervously. She seemed friendly and close to Mercedes age. Mercedes felt herself getting excited - finally, a girl her age besides Maggie! She liked Maggie and all but found it hard to be friendly with her; the way she was treating Glenn made her mad.

"We found her in the pharmacy - she saved us from a geek," Glenn said, predicting correctly the moment of fear that rippled through the group. "It was only one, but Lette here killed it for us." Lette smiled shyly but accepted the gratitude gracefully. Mercedes liked her a little more every minute.

Glenn went around the group making introductions just as Rick had done for Mercedes when she had joined the group. This time though, she was included as a member. It felt really good to know they considered her an official part of them, like family. They were all each of them had left after all.

When Glenn got to Daryl he hesitated. How the hell did he say this? Referring to Mercedes as Daryl's girlfriend sounded wrong, it didn't describe the situation and he couldn't imagine Daryl thinking of her that way. To avoid complication he said, "And that's Daryl and Mercedes." Lette seemed smart (she had survived this long after all) so she'd figure out what Daryl and Mercedes were soon enough.

Even Merle was introduced as he skulked in the back of the group, though he looked more alive and interested than Mercedes had seen him yet.

When the introductions were over Rick helped Lette off the horse, the girl looking incredibly happy to be off the animal. Daryl slid down off the RV, mumbling about going back to sleep and Glenn went off with Maggie (who still looked extremely pissed) to untack the horses and put them away, leaving Lette looking distinctly out of place and unsure of what to do with herself.

"Hey, wanna keep me company until Glenn comes back to take over?" she called down to the girl. Lette smiled and climbed the ladder to sit down next to Mercedes.

"So, what's your story?" she asked, staring at the end of the leopard tattoo peeking out of Mercedes' shirt.

"Not very amazing - I was in Georgia visiting friends when the reports started happening on the news. Panic hit. My friends and I tried to run, but...they all...you know," Mercedes said, taking a minute to collect herself. She hadn't talked to anyone about that yet. She hadn't realized how desperate she was for someone her age. "I kept going on my own and ended up in the stretch of woods that borders this place. Daryl found me in the woods while we were both hunting and the rest is history?" Mercedes finished, shrugging her shoulders and smiling. It was nothing special, the same story everyone had.

"Same for me, really," Lette said. "Except I'm from around here. I used to complain nothing ever happened in Georgia but now I'd rather it stayed that way," she said. Mercedes smiled and nodded.

They spent the next fifteen minutes going over each member of the camp, Mercedes explaining what everyone did and what they were like. Lette felt like she knew most of them by the time Mercedes was done explaining it - she had a way of explaining personalities that really made people come alive in Lette's mind. The girls lapsed into easy conversation, talking about the things they liked and the things they hated and laughing in a way that Mercedes couldn't remember doing in weeks.

Lette found herself incredibly grateful that she'd chosen to try the pharmacy again that day.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day passed in a comfortable blur. Mercedes showed Lette around camp and they had fun even as they did random chores.<p>

Just as the sun was getting low in the sky - it would be another hour before it began to sink beneath the horizon though - they were carrying water from the well to the RV as they hadn't hooked up the shower system to running water yet and in order to take showers you had to collect your own water when they heard the slam of a horse gate and some yelling. Lette looked worriedly to Mercedes and the two were immediately off in the direction of the sound.

They found Maggie stomping over to Lori holding a brown paper bag in her hands.

"Maggie, hang on, please!" Glenn said, trying to keep up with the angry girl.

"Come on in here," Lori said, walking off in the direction of her tent.

"Why, nothing to hide! We got your special delivery right here. We got your lotion, we got your conditioner, your Soap Opera Digest!"

"Maggie?" Lori said, looking hurt and confused.

"Next time you want something, do it your damn self! We're not your errand boys!"

"What's going on?" Mercedes said, her and Lette coming to a stop a safe distance from the explosive Maggie.

"I'll tell you what's going on! None of you give a SHIT about Glenn. He's just the guy you send it when it's something none of you want to do because you know he'll do it! You know he can't say no so you just throw him into every horrible situation!"

"Maggie, honey -" Lori began but didn't get to finish as Maggie bent over and handed her something off the ground.

"Here's your abortion pills," Maggie said, slapping the packages into Lori's hand and stalking off. Shell-shocked, the three woman just stood there watching her storm away while Glenn looked at them with an apolegetic expression before bolting off after her.

* * *

><p>Neither Mercedes nor Lette spoke of what they'd seen to anyone but each other. Mercedes filled in what she knew to Lette - it seemed pointless keeping the secret when it had been aired right in front of the new girl. Lette wondered if Rick knew about the baby - he didn't seem at all troubled when she'd met him earlier.<p>

Dinner passed quickly, Lette feeling sleepy and happy after eating the closest thing to a meal she'd had in what felt like forever. She was really beginning to wonder where the hell she was going to sleep though. As the group started to retire Mercedes pointed off to the truck, answering the question as if reading her mind.

"You can have my sleeping bag tonight - Daryl and I were hurt yesterday and we're staying in the house for a few days so we can get a good night's sleep. Merle sleeps in the cab of the truck but he shouldn't bother you. If he does just let me know," Mercedes said. She didn't think Merle would make trouble on his first real day back but you never really knew with him.

"Sounds good. Thanks for everything today, Merch," said Lette, moving off in the direction of the truck. Mercedes smiled and bid her goodnight, moving towards the house.

Lette bit her lip as she made her way to the truck. She was surprised to see a dog sitting in the cab with the man she'd been told was named Merle. He was petting the dog's head and talking to it. When he saw Lette coming he stopped and squinted at her.

"The fuck do you want?"

Lette was a little taken aback but wasn't going to be thrown off her guard in front of him.

"Mercedes told me I could sleep in her sleeping bag for the night until we figure something out," Lette explained.

"Did she now? Funny how she thinks she can hand out my truck space to just anyone," Merle complained, playing with the dog's ear absent-mindedly as he leered at Lette.

"Are you going to stop me?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and cocking a hip. Despite her short stature she looked more intimidating than one might think.

"No, but the inside of the truck here might be comfier," Merle said, propping up pillows on the far side of the cab. Lette raised an eyebrow at the tone in his voice, a kind of invitation crudely veiled beneath his words.

"I think I'll take the sleeping bag, thanks," she said, shaking her head and climbing into the back of the truck.

"What the fuck is it with all the women in this camp? Bunch of carpetmunchers, all of'em," Merle said to Kane, shaking his own head.

Lette fell asleep quickly after rolling her eyes and smiling to herself.

* * *

><p>Mercedes was tired to her bones. She could barely keep her eyes open when her head hit the pillow. All and all it had been a good day. She worried about Merle though - things were, all things considered, alright in the camp and they didn't need his racist, selfish input. And there was the whole death threat thing.<p>

She felt the mattress shift under Daryl's weight as he got into the bed, his arm up against her back as he lay on his back and she lay on her side facing away from him. She had just been about to drift off into sleep when she felt his hand on the dip between her rib cage and her hip. Her eyes opened in surprise at the touch. It didn't last long however and she assumed it was his way of saying good night and she nestled her head back into the pillow. She was, apparently, wrong however. She felt his fingers loop into her long black hair and gather it in his fist, pulling her head back towards his and using his other hand to push her hip down and manuver her onto her back.

It was nice to know an arrow wound wasn't going to keep him down.

They were too tired to continue for too long but when they were finished both were out of breath and the back of Mercedes' head ached wonderfully from the tug of his fingers in her hair. He smirked at her as she rubbed the back of her head and she just rolled her eyes.

What a man.

* * *

><p><strong>OOH LALA!<strong>

**So I suppose I should say that now that I've gotten close to Episode 7 stuff we're going to be going into original plottage for the majority of the time until February. The week before the show I'll be writing about Episode 7 from this story's point of view so we're all set for the mid-season premiere, no matter what happens! **

**Again, thank you to all my wonderful reviewers. It's so nice to hear from you guys! If there is anything you'd like to see happen drop me a line and we can talk about including it!**

**Next chapter will include some pretty serious Daryl/Mercedes stuff though I will put up the proper warnings of course. We'll also see some more of Lette and Merle - what a wierd pair, but they'll be funny and awesome! And what the fudge is going on with Glenn and Maggie? And is there some unrest in the Grimes family? See you guys in a few days - I plan on writing a lot since it's my break!**

**Leyshla - AW! I missed your lovely face too! Merle is tre asshole, but I love it about him. Who knows what will happen though? I mean he's never EVER EVER EVER in a million years going to be a softie but maybe he'll see that things are going well for Daryl and wake up? Be an asshole..but at least care the smallest little bit? I'm glad I never let you down - I try very hard to make this a good read! Thanks, as always!**


	8. Bad Romance

**HELLO MY LOVELY READERS! I hope the last few days have been good to everyone!**

**There is some sexual content in this chapter; it is NOT smut. Its sexual matters dealt with in a mature manner, but I assume since you're all fans of the show/comics that you're not really uptight about sex anyway! But for those of you who would like to skip over that for whatever reason, I've put some headers (Reading: INAPPROPRIATENESS AHEAD.) in so you know when to stop reading and where to pick up again. :)**

**I hope you enjoy the chapter! Without further ado:**

* * *

><p>When Mercedes woke up Daryl was already gone. His side of the bed was cold and she frowned, wondering how long he'd been up. The sun had just passed the horizon so she hadn't slept in. She rushed to tie her boots, hoping nothing was wrong. (Visions of Merle running around the camp hacking everyone to pieces with a chainsaw only fueled the worry as she rushed out of the room.)<p>

Thankfully the sound of a chainsaw was no where to be heard. Truth be told she was thankful – she had a phobia of chainsaws that was almost comical to behold. The sound alone left her cowering in a corner.

She did, however, find Daryl sitting in a rocking chair on the porch. He was alternating between wringing his hands together and putting his fingers to his mouth in frustration.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly, unwilling to disturb what was otherwise an incredibly silent and beautiful morning. Even though she preferred the city to the country she wasn't stupid enough to dislike a view like the one Hershel had.

"Itching to get out and look for Sophia again. It's killing me to sit here," Daryl answered. She understood how he felt. Every moment that she sat around she felt like she was wasting time and not doing her part. She didn't know the kid from a hole in the wall, but the idea of someone being trapped out there alone, defenseless and small, was enough to light a fire under Mercedes' ass.

"So let's go!" Mercedes said and received a glower from Daryl in return.

"Already tried. Went to see if we could get more horses to go out again but Rick headed me off at the pass, spoutin' some bullshit about how we're not ready to go back out after getting hurt," Daryl said, flailing his arms around like he usually did when he was angry.

"Hmph…what if we say we're going out hunting? That's not really strenuous if we're just looking for squirrel. We can take Kane with us – he's real good at finding rabbits. But we'll really be tracking Sophia!" Mercedes said, suddenly excited. In truth she thought Rick was probably right – they were both too drained to really go on a full search for Sophia, but after a full day's rest they had enough in them to at least look a little!

"Hell yeah! Let's do it!" Daryl said, popping up and trying to prevent putting a hand to his side in pain. No way in hell was anyone gonna see him grimacing – he had things to do!

* * *

><p>On the other side of camp, Lette was just waking up. The sleeping bag smelled like soap and a little bit like dogs…but it was heaven after sleeping in dirty old storerooms on cardboard boxes. She stretched, running her hands along the rusted metal of Merle's truck bed and smiling. Today was the first day in a long time that she felt that she stood a chance.<p>

Slipping out of the sleeping bag she rifled through her backpack, searching for a relatively clean pair of clothes. She'd noticed a line that the group hung their washed clothes on, another luxury that seemed foreign and exciting to poor, malnourished Lette. Dragging on a white tank-top she found a light pair of jeans she liked. Her eyes darted in either direction, looking to make sure no one was about to walk past, and wiggled out of the pants she was wearing and stuck her legs in the pant holes of the jeans.

"Hmm, they may be carpet-munchers but at least they have nice asses, right Kane?" she heard and jumped about a mile. Racing to pull the pants up over underwear she spun around and buttoned the jeans, looking in Merle's devilish eyes.

"I wish Mercedes had warned me that you're such a pig," Lette said, throwing her dirty jeans at him. He carelessly tossed the pants on the ground and laughed.

"Oh come on now, technically I just gave you a compliment. I could have said you're a carpet-muncher AND you have an ugly ass."

She actually couldn't argue with him on that.

"True, I guess. But if you wanted to look at it you could at least ask first," she replied, digging through her backpack for a hair-tie.

"I'll make sure to do that next time," he said, placing heavy emphasis on the words "next time". Lette just smiled at him, waving good-bye as she padded away towards the main part of camp. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do but she thought she knew who to ask.

Merle, for his part, went back to lounging around in the truck. He'd found the plastic baggie full of his pills and he was pleasantly buzzed on some painkillers. He didn't plan on being useful at all today. But that girl…she had some fire underneath her polite demeanor, and he couldn't wait to see her explode.

* * *

><p>Lette was surprised that everyone else was up this early. She was used to it since it was safest during the day when all the walkers felt lazy and she made better distance if she started at first light.<p>

Mercedes had filled her in on the entire situation with Sophia and Lette was ready to get out and help. Unlike Mercedes it wasn't because she felt some kind of worry for the missing girl – she just desperately wanted to prove her worth to the group. She was still incredulous that they had accepted her so readily and she would be damned if she gave them any reason to think about leaving her in the cold.

She found Rick standing around the front of a truck with Shane, Andrea, Daryl, Dale, and Mercedes. She took a moment to be proud for remembering all the names and joined the group. She had her knife but had given her handgun to Dale (even though she had been loathe to hand it over) the day before since she wasn't about to break the rules. It was a sweet piece of work she'd picked out of some poor man's hand when she'd been escaping Atlanta. She wasn't the best shot, but she'd had a lot of practice the last few months and made up for any fumbles with her knife.

Daryl was explaining – rather grumpily, she might add – that he and Mercedes were going to go out on an easy hunting trip since they weren't going to be allowed to go out and search for Sophia. The last bit he said with a glare at Rick who pointedly avoided his gaze.

Shane and Andrea would be heading out to another section of the river they hadn't looked over yet that would continue on with the search of the area the doll was found in. That was when Lette spoke up: "Is there anyone I could go with? I'm a decent shot and I want to help."

Rick looked at her, saw the way her jeans barely clung to her hips. She looked desperately tired and in need of a day off. He couldn't imagine being on his own for months – it had been bad enough enduring the few days he'd been on his own. She needed some time off before she tried to help them.

"Lette, you should stay here today. It's hard work out there in the heat and I don't think you're ready. You need some square meals and rest and then we'd love your help," Rick answered. Shane looked like he agreed. Rick could see the air leaving Lette's sails quickly and felt awful. But he wouldn't change his mind. It wasn't safe.

"But I've been doing just fine on my own! It's really not a big deal!" Lette said, displaying a stubborn streak that Mercedes smiled at. Rick still wouldn't budge.

"Look, if you're set on being helpful you can help Lori and Carol with the laundry," Rick offered. Laundry, seriously? Lette felt like punching him. But she wouldn't – he at least tried to compromise with her and she could appreciate that, despite how very little she wanted to do the laundry.

"Yeah, alright," she said, leaning on the truck and watching them map out their plans. At least she would know where they'd be if they needed help.

When they went off in their separate directions Lette looked around for Rick's wife, trying to imagine scenarios in which doing the laundry would be fun.

But Lori didn't show up for laundry. She still wasn't there an hour later when she and Carol were finishing dragging the last few scraps of laundry through the soapy water. Carol was pleasant to be around, a surprise that Lette hadn't anticipated considering the situation with her daughter. The two passed the time easily but it was obvious that both were wondering where their partner was.

* * *

><p>Kane was ecstatic to be out in the woods. He loved playing with Carl – that was obvious to just about anyone – but he had missed the woods and all its smells and animals so much! Mercedes watched his tail wagging so fast it was a blur and smiled. His big boxy head turned to look at her with an expression almost like he was smiling, and she laughed and pointed off into the woods. He bounded away, surprisingly quiet as he went to hunt. He could find her easily and Mercedes wasn't worried about him.<p>

Daryl and Mercedes had re-traced the path from their previous outing, thinking if Sophia's doll had washed up they could follow the stream backwards and look for signs further along. It would make sense that if she had camped out close enough to the river for her doll to fall in that she might still be around.

They picked through the trees, looking for a safer way down than the path they had taken up. Mercedes shuddered at the thought of trying that again.

On the right side of the cliff (they'd walked up the left) they found a fairy linear path though it was still pretty steep. They'd have to do some climbing but it was by far easier than the other path they'd taken. Forgetting all pretense they skidded down on quick feet, using the trees as handholds as they raced down – no use wasting the time or energy on picking through!

Up at the top of the cliff Kane came bounding out of the tree-line, a rabbit in his huge jaws. Placing it down gingerly he sniffed the air and quickly picked up his girl's scent. Picking the rabbit back up he found the path downwards and started wagging his tail and wiggling his butt when he saw his friends at the bottom. This would be fun!

He took a running start and started sprinting down the steep hill, anticipating a splashy jump at the bottom into the river! WHEEEEEE! He landed with a huge splash and swam over to his buddies, proud to have a rabbit in his jaws to place in Daryl's hands. He watched the man place it on a string he had on his shoulders and then started paddling around in the water.

"Your dog is just as nuts as you are," Daryl said, looking at Mercedes and raising his eyebrows.

"Well you like hanging out with us, so does that make you nuts by association?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in return.

"If you haven't noticed, most of the world is undead. So I'm forced to hang out with you because there's no one else," he said, pushing through bushes and looking for anything that could belong to Sophia. Mercedes just rolled her eyes and did the same, smiling to herself. Kane was having a grand old time swimming around them in circles.

Another two hours of searching passed, Daryl spearing squirrels against trees every once in a while and Kane alternately being distracted between hunting and swimming.

Mercedes hadn't realized how hungry she was until her stomach let out an embarrassingly loud grumble. She hadn't remembered to pack anything for them to eat - blame it on the blood loss - and reconcilied to being hungry until they got back to camp in another few hours.

"Yeah, me too," Daryl said, as if her stomach growling had been a substitute for actual words. "Time for breakfast." He began walking back across the stream, Kane hiking up beside him and looking up happily at his friend. Mercedes was really confused but trekked across and followed him back up the hill.

Daryl sat down on the edge of the cliff and Mercedes followed him, looking around the area.

"Hey...isn't this where..." she began, but trailed off after she felt the heat rising in her face. That was the tree he'd pushed her up against the last time they'd been out here. Daryl looked up at the tree but there wasn't much change in his expression.

"Yeah, suppose it is," he said, taking a squirrel off the string and laying it down in front of him. Mercedes suppressed the urge to barf.

"Oh my god, not again! Don't you think you'll get some kind of disease or something? That can't be good for you."

"Yeah, well it does the trick when you're hungry. If something happens to me then I bet Merle's got something in that bag of his that'll cure it," Daryl answered. "You want some of this?"

Mercedes was torn. She was REALLY hungry and she didn't want to stop looking for Sophia any time soon. It wasn't smart to be out in the sun after being injured without some kind of fuel. But the thought of raw squirrel...urgh!

"Yeah, I'll try it," she said, sitting in front of him and biting her lip. Daryl kindly speared the tiny little liver for her and held it out on his knife.

"You can be like that Hannibal guy," Daryl said, surprising Mercedes with the well-known movie line.

"Yeah," she said, eyeballing the raw meat between her fingers. "Except I wish I had the fava beans and the Chianti." Placing the liver between her lips she closed her eyes and started chewing.

It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. The overwhelming flavor was of blood and that metallic taste had never bothered her. It was a little chewy and strange - like tough chicken - but it wasn't the horrible mess she'd anticipated. She nodded and smiled. They spent the next couple minutes sharing the squirrel and talking about what they should do when they resumed their search. They'd turned up nothing on this particular stretch and Daryl was convinced that the best idea was to follow the river up, one of them on each side scouring the brush. When they were finished eating they brushed their bloody fingers off on their pants, but neither was particularly ready to get back up.

Kane, who had been a whole rabbit he'd caught himself, had finished the animal and was sniffing along the tree line excitedly.

"Find something?" Mercedes asked him and he wagged his tail in response. She knew him well enough to read what it meant. "Go get it!" she said excitedly and the dog bounded off into the woods.

"We always had dogs when I was a kid, old hound dogs. They were nasty, always lookin' to take a finger off your hand if you got too close. Kane's a cool dog," Daryl said, finding it amusing how well the pitbull listened to Mercedes and how attached the girl was to the dog.

"Yeah, he's awesome. I don't know what I'd have done without him when I was alone. He likes you too," Mercedes said, untying the laces on her boots and dumping water out of them. Once upon a time they'd been beautiful and waterproof, but the zombie apocalypse usually tested the strength of things. Her knife fell out of the right boot when she tugged it off and Daryl snagged it.

"This is a nice piece of work," he said, running his thumb along the edge of the blade.

"It's gotten me out of more than one scrape," she said, flashes of memories running through her mind, zombies baring down on her...she shook her head. She didn't want to remember that right now. Some day. Just not right now.

"I might have to keep it," Daryl said, putting it in the sheath where he kept his hunting knife.

"Like hell!" she said, throwing the boot down on the ground and reaching for it. Daryl shuffled away, smirking and keeping out of her reach. She scrambled after him and climbed over his legs, straddling his lap to prevent him from getting away while she wrestled him for the knife. At first she was playing, thinking he'd give the knife back, but he was really fighting back. His hands were on her wrists and she fought with everything she had then to free herself from his grip, lunging at him with her upper body to loosen his grip.

He just smirked infuriatingly at her. She growled and stopped moving, feigning defeat. When his grip loosened she struck like a snake, grabbing for the knife quickly. She felt her fingers brush over the leather and she almost had it! - but Daryl grabbed her arms and smiled at her, his fingers squeezing a little too hard...a little bit of deviousness behind the smirk.

He kissed her then, hard and unyielding against her until he felt her body relax. She had forgotten all about the knife. Her hands slid over his shoulders, her fingers lacing together behind his head as she kissed him back, tasting the tang of what they'd eaten. There was a violence in the way they moved against each other, their breathing already ragged and excited.

(INAPPROPRIATENESS AHEAD!)

It was seamless, the way his hands peeled off her shirt without asking her first. It was a lot like tracking an animal - move on instinct and you'll get them every time. He listened to her breathing for cues; it got faster when she felt her skin against nothing but air and he put an arm around her lower back, pulling her waist against his. He was surprised when she reached behind herself and unclasped her bra, shrugging it off her shoulders and throwing it to the side with her shirt, stiffening like had the first time they kissed. And just like that time he went back at it with more aggression than before, running his hands up to touch her and watch the scar on her neck stretch when her head fell back.

"Not fair," she said against his mouth when she came back to kiss him, her fingers undoing the buttons of the ever-present plaid cut-off shirt until it fell away and he yanked his own wifebeater off.

When bare skin touched bare skin that seemed to end any sense of pretense. There was no thought any more, just animal desire as they got rid of the clothes that were only getting in the way. His skin was so hot against hers and she bit her lip, running her fingers up the hard planes of his back.

She was lost in his movement, on fire with the grip of his rough hands. There was no subtlety in the way they ran over her, touching, possessing her. She returned the favor, learning the lines of his muscles with her eyes closed and her head thrown back.

They were nothing but motion and animal cunning as their hands were replaced by mouths and tongues, exploring each other and watching for a reaction. Every time Daryl would touch her, grab her, push her just the way she liked she'd gasp and he'd smirk - the hunter closing in on his prey. But then she'd reach for him and he'd lose the smirk only to see it form on her face. It was a game, just like the one they'd played when they first met. They were trying to outdo each other and yet at the same time they were so comfortable that they both knew that in the end the game would always end tied, a perfect match.

Time passed them by, leaving them in their own world like they grappled like two animals, naked and gasping in the woods.

Just when she thought she could take no more, when his touch hurt and her body was limp, his hands went around her hips and flipped her onto her stomach. What he wanted was to have her on her back and pound her into the dirt, watch her face screw up as she tried to hold in her noises, watch her fingers curl into the leaves as she tried to hold out...but the cut on her back prevented that particular vision. He didn't care - there'd be other times.

Mercedes, on her hands on knees in front of him, had to bite her arm to prevent herself from crying out when took her. Her eyes closed, her fingers dug into the ground, her breathing harsh and irregular...

Before they fell over the edge Daryl found himself thinking he understood her fascination with deer as he watched the doe tattoo on her shoulder blade move with his timing...

(INAPPROPRIATENESS OVER. FOR NOW. ;D)

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><p>She lay on her stomach, numb and happy. The leaves dug into her skin but nothing could bother her in that moment. In the history that was her life she couldn't remember feeling so at home with a person. When everything they knew was gone she had at least one thing she could depend on, and it made the tang of their time pressed against each other that much sweeter in her mouth.<p>

It hadn't been a fairy-tale, wasn't like those stories where the two lovebirds get together and make love.

It had been raw, rough, violent - a challenge, the way they both liked it. It had been perfect.

Daryl lay on his back, eyes closed. Mercedes was covered in leaves and dirt and she stood up, trying to brush it all off. Her sweat was making it impossible.

"Fuck this," she said, going back down to the river again and diving underneath the water to rinse herself off. When she was satisfied she didn't look like a dirt monster anymore she walked back up the hill and seperated her clothes from the pile of mismatched, carelessly thrown items that had collected.

She handed him his stuff and pulled on her own, smiling the entire time.

Kane came out of the bushes then, holding the biggest rabbit Mercedes had ever seen in his jaws.

"Holy shit Daryl! Check it out!"

Daryl turned around, pulling the wifebeater down around his stomach, his eyes widening in surprise at Kane's catch.

"Damn, that things the size of Merle's head!"

Mercedes, laughing, went to take the rabbit from Kane but the dog stared at her as if he knew what had happened while he had been gone.

"That's awkward," Daryl said, finishing the buttons on his shirt and walking over to hold out his hand. Kane delicately placed the rabbit, wagging his tail a little and giving them the eyeball that seemed to say he would be watching them - the ever vigilant Kane, watchdog-extrordinaire.

Laden with squirrel and rabbits the two started picking their way back to the camp, reveling in the minor victory of providing so much meat for the rest of the group and hoping against all odds that Sophia was still out there.

* * *

><p>Lette was walking back into camp when she saw Glenn zooming across the frontyard of the property. He was heading towards Maggie with some serious purpose and she sped up the pace, not wanting to be around when the shit hit the fan.<p>

She was winding through the tents when she stumbled across Rick heading into the tent he shared with Lori.

"Hey," he said, stepping back out and putting a hand on her arm to stop her. "I was thinking about earlier and I wanted to tell you I appreciate your wanting to help us out. It means a lot that there is another hand around to help look for Sophia. I don't want you to feel like you're being shoved aside," he trailed off, feeling tired and hopeless at the thought of another day without finding the little girl. He had promised...what would happen if he had to break that promise?

"No, it's alright. I get it. I just hate intruding on your hospitality," she replied. She read the sadness in his face and smiled, trying to let him know that he didn't need to feel guilty. She didn't even know him and could see he carried so much weight on his shoulders.

"Well, either way. Thanks," he finished, smiling at her.

Lette walked on, frowning. She was walking back to the truck but had so many thoughts swirling in her head that she couldn't bear to face Merle with his snarky comments. She veered off in the direction of the fence surrounded the property, hoping to relax by watching the view.

Rick, meanwhile, entered the tent he shared with Lori and stretched. No matter how much he slept he never felt rested. He never dreamt, was plagued by nightmares of his family being torn apart by walkers, by Sophia screaming and begging not to leave her behind, of the group accusing him...he shook his head. He looked to the table to see if there were any opened water bottles and saw...pharmacy packages?

He picked up a packet and felt his head stop. Morning after pills...lots of them. His brain was short-circuiting. Why would they need this? What was going on? And then it hit him. Oh my god, it hit him.

He needed to find Lori. Right now.

The screech of the zipper flying off its track on the tent door was the only sound to pierce the silence left in the tent as Rick flew out in search of his wife.

* * *

><p><strong>GAH! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I was nervous about the sexy stuff. I knew I wanted to actually write out the encounter without going into explicit detail. I hope it was alright! I know the chapter is very focused on LetteMercedes business but this stuff needed to happen! Hehe!**

**Anyways, next chapter is going to be LOTS of drama. I'm so excited! I'm hoping to get it up Saturday or Sunday.**

**As always, thank you so, SO much to my reviewers. I've sent PM's out to all of you. I've had awesome conversations with several of you and you all really make my day!**

**For my anon's:**

**Sierra: I'm glad Merle is back too! I hope this was enough action for you in this chapter! ;) Maggie makes me angry too, but I know what you mean by loving it all anyway. Like, I love Shane even though he's a horrible person because you just HAVE to have him, he makes a part of the show. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**Leyshla: I totally agree - Lori needed that from Maggie! Maggie had a good point - it's not fair to risk Glenn's life for all her little errands. Thank you so much for all your reviews, and I'm glad you like the story so much. It means a lot that something I enjoy so much gives others happiness. I always keep you in mind while writing since you've been so awesome through the whole process, and I always get happy knowing I get to hear from you! :)**

**Until next time guys - see you soon! :D**


	9. Pretty Much

**HELLO READERS! :) I hope the last few days have treated everyone well!**

**This chapter has a little bit of everything: gore, language, drug use, and mild sensuality! If any of that bothers anyone proceed with caution.**

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><p>As she stood against the fence catching a breather, Lette tried to remember the exact moment when she had known something was horribly wrong. She could remember reading...not what book through. Whatever it had been, it had that smell of a book that was well-loved and sat on the shelves for years, the pages a little buttery in her hands.<p>

_She had heard a noise a little like a groan but assumed it was just her brother stretching as he woke up. Lette hadn't been able to fall asleep the night before - some nagging premonition hadn't let her drift off into dreams - and had stayed up the whole night reading in the hopes that eventually the world the book would transport her to would lull her to sleep. It hadn't worked and now she felt detached as the rest of the world woke up to a sun she'd watched rise._

_The groan again. _

_Maybe her brother was sick? She glanced at the page number she'd stopped on (Mom had always said she had a strange memory for things like that) and closed up the book, intent on finishing it before 9 o' clock rolled around just to prove to herself she could. _

_She padded down the hallway, her steps quiet on the carpeted floor. Looking back now that probably was her saving grace. _

_"Devin?" she called softly through the door to his room. No answer. "Devin?" Still no answer. Frowning, she put her hand to the doorknob of his room and started to turn it. A sick groan came through the door again and she almost called for her parents, dreading what she might see when she opened the door. What if he were very sick? What if she opened the door and his floor was covered in puke, Devin passed out on the ground and groaning for anyone to help him? But if that was the case she wanted to help him immediately - she didn't have time to wait for her parents._

_In retrospect, she WISHED he had been very ill. It sounded horrible saying it but anything would have been better - there would have been some kind of hope - if he had been ill. _

_She found him sitting on the floor, his legs tucked underneath him. He was bent over something. A pool of blood extended over the carpet, turning its warm beige to a sickly maroon. She'd never seen that much blood in her whole life. _

_"Devin?" she asked, her voice trembling. When he turned around she had to stifle a scream. Muscle and tendon hung from his lips, his eyes dead but somehow still hungry as he groaned at her. It took another moment for her to realize what he'd been snacking on: his mother lay prostrate and lifeless in front of him. _

_She ran then, having no idea what was going on. She ran further down the hallway, sprinting for the stairs and the downstairs telephone. She skidded to a halt right before the stairs, her father sprawled across the top few steps, his mouth open and his shoulder hideously torn apart by something. Stifling a sob she jumped over him and skidded down the steps, taking a left into the living room and picking up the phone._

_No dial tone. Nothing. _

_"Goddamnit, damnit..." she whispered, knowing she shouldn't draw attention to herself when her brother was obviously so...so whatever he was. She ran back upstairs and grabbed her cell phone, hoping against hope to be able to get into contact with someone. No service. Fucking cell phone towers! Of all the times -_

_She heard a loud groan behind her. Turning to face her brother she saw the scratches across his face, wounds their mother must have given him in an attempt to fight him off. Her eyes flicked around the room looking for anything she could use to defend herself against him. She desperately ripped down the curtains around her windows, tearing the curtain rod out and brandishing it at him. She walked around him slowly, keeping her gaze trained on his arms in case he reached out to grab her. She made it past him - barely - when he lunged at her and groaned. She screamed and ran down the hallway, leaping over her Dad again and running for the front door. _

_She had just escaped the house when a strong arm clotheslined her chest, wrapping around her and holding her in place._

_"Let go of me, let go of me! He's gonna fucking kill us, we have to get help!" she screamed at whatever dumbass was manhandling her._

_"Did he bite you?" the voice asked, its urgency breaking through her panic._

_"Bite me? No...he was...he was eating my parents..." she said, somehow thinking it wouldn't be the first time the voice heard that today. _

_"Christ...come on, we gotta kill him," it said, backing away from her to reveal a tired-looking man who appeared to be in his 30's. _

_"WHAT! We can't just kill him! He needs help, he's sick. There must be something wrong," she said, trailing off at the look in his eyes._

_"Look, I don't have the time to explain it to you now, but your brother and your parents are dead. I know he's walking around but he's dead. Your parents will get up and walk around just like him. They'll kill everyone they see. We can't let that happen," he said._

_"What, you mean like...zombies?" Lette asked, incredulous._

_"Exactly," he replied grimly, sneaking quietly into the house with a baseball bat somehow adorned with nails._

_Her brother was waiting inside the door. She watched him die with a horrifying finality, nails digging through his eyes and into the meat of his brain when his skull cracked open with the pressure of the bat. She choked back a sob. She thought then that her parents must have died so quickly. She heard nothing, no screams as their son tore their throats out. They must have died with blood gushing down their chests and the sound of their windpipes whistling air, incapable of making noise to warn their daughter._

_"Where are your parents?" the man asked. She pointed up the stairs._

_"Wait!" she called. "Let me...let me do it." The man offered her a knife he'd had stuck through his belt and she trudged up the stairs._

_"I'm so sorry, Dad," she whispered, surprisingly tear-free as she drove the knife into the side of his head. She couldn't really feel anything, shock and despair blocking out any tears or cries of sadness._

_She moved quickly towards her brother's bedroom, kneeling over her mother and trying to ignore the chunks of flesh missing from her arms. _

_"I love you Mom," she said, moving her mother's hair so it didn't cover her face. Then she finished her mother in the same way._

_She felt strangely empty inside._

The man had helped her escape. After that they'd traveled together. His name had been Sid. She couldn't remember Sid now, not after reliving the nightmare of her family. Coming out to the fence was supposed to be calming but instead it had done nothing but make her more upset. She needed distraction, and as awful as that distraction could be Merle would definitely do the job well. She turned to go when she saw Lori standing at the fence as well, looking just as troubled as Lette felt. She toyed with the idea of going over, asking if everything was okay and why she hadn't been at laundry, when Rick came dashing out of the trees surrounding camp with an expression Lette couldn't begin to describe on his face.

If she knew what was good for her she'd make herself scarce. She turned to go, dashing off towards the camp, but not before she heard voices escalating.

"You're tearing into me for keeping secrets when you're holding on to this?" she heard Rick ask, his voice breaking with anger. She poured on the speed and disappeared before they knew she'd been around to hear it.

* * *

><p>She made her way quickly through the trees, unwilling to be caught anywhere near the warring couple. When she caught sight of the Dixon's truck she slowed her pace so she didn't look suspicious. She made a beeline for the truck, wanting nothing but to change into something more comfortable and night-timey. But instead she heard Merle's frustrated grunts coming from the cab and dismissed all thoughts of changing. Not while HE was around!<p>

She opened the passenger side of the truck and swung herself in, settling on the big seat and resting her head against the window.

"Come to join me for a night-cap?" Merle asked, using the arm without a hand to move pill bottles around in his bag.

"You know, if you keep going through drugs like that you're gonna have nothing left," she commented, watching him get more and more frustrated.

"Not too worried about it sugar. Easy enough to find this stuff now that all the other druggies are dead," he said, the nonchalant way he said it doing something to her stomach.

What the fuck was that? Why did her stomach feel like it just did a somersault into her kidneys? Weird. Must have been a fluke.

He continued to dig through the bag, getting more and more frustrated as he used his hand to keep the bag open and his..."end" for lack of a better word, to brush aside unwanted drugs and get to what he looking for.

"Here," Lette said, holding out her hand for the bag. "Let me do it. What do you want?"

Merle gave her an incredulous look.

"Alprazolam...little, yellowish, round ones," he said, watching her paw through the bag. "So you'll get me my drugs but you won't take any with me?" he said, putting on the charm to convince her what a good idea it was.

"No thanks," she said. "Like I said before, if we get attacked I'd like to be completely sober. How many do you want?" she asked, finding the labeled bottle and taking off the cap.

"Eh, surprise me," he said, holding out his hand. She tipped a couple into his palm, the pads of her fingers brushing up against his rough hand.

There is was again - that weird flip-flopping feeling in her stomach. She watched him pop the pills in his mouth, showing no signs that the bitter flavor got to him.

"What do those make you feel like?" she asked, tilting the bottle around in her hands and listening to the sound the pills made.

"A rush...and then so relaxed. Like nothin' you've ever known," he said, surprisingly mellow and void of sexist nicknames. She found she liked him both ways.

Okay...seriously? There was NO way she was finding Merle Dixon attractive. He was an asshole, a sexist, racist, bigot redneck with a drug problem! Nope, no way.

She was saved by the continuing train of thought by the sound of leaves rustling in the nearby tree line. She immediately sat up and wished she had her handgun - if she died because some zombies came rushing out of the woods Hershel was gonna feel like a real asshole! Merle just stared calmly past Lette (but not before letting his eyes glaze over her chest) and waited for whatever was coming.

Lette relaxed when she saw Daryl and Mercedes exiting the woods, a string of squirrels and rabbits that Lette couldn't believe around Daryl's shoulder. Both looked satisfied with what they'd done in the woods and Lette wondered if they'd found evidence of Sophia despite being adament that they were doing nothing but hunting and taking it easy.

"Got some leaves in your hair," Merle said to Mercedes, his lips twitching into a wicked smile. The girl, for her credit, raised her hand up and blushed a little but didn't let the teasing get to her. She could still pretend she'd run through a bush or something and gotten some leaves tangled in her long hair.

"So I guess somebody's side ain't hurtin' that much," he continued, shifting his glazed eyes over to Daryl. Whoops...no "ran through a bush" lie for Mercedes.

"Ah, shut the hell up," Daryl growled (though he didn't seem to really mean it, what man would deny that he'd had sex?).

"Why not let me take her for a ride?" Merle continued, his eyes flashing even through the glaze. He didn't really mean it - a Dixon had standards, and of those included not stealing from your kin.

"She can hear you and declines respectfully," Mercedes said, her muffled voice rising from the bed of the truck.

"Why not you then?" he said, his eyes landing on Lette. She grimaced at him.

"Nice to know I'm second choice," she said, smiling devilishly back at him. Watch him get out of this one - maybe he'd finally leave her alone!

"Oh no sugartits - Daryl's girl is off-limits first of all, second she ain't my type really. Little too wide through the hips. Sure, it's a nice hour-glass shape but I prefer something a little more...defined," he said, eyeing her like a piece of meat.

She had to stop herself from shivering. He looked at her with all the comprehension she wouldn't expect from a drug addict, a hard, animal lust that she felt herself pulled to. She couldn't see herself in a relationship with him. But she could definitely see herself...spending time with him. Yes, for sure.

"Merle, you wanna help me skin these things? We'll all wanna be eatin' soon," Daryl said, popping his head in the cab.

"Yeah brother, sounds good," he said, sliding out of the cab without taking his eyes off Lette. She tried to control her breathing, didn't want him to see what he was doing to her.

When they were gone she hopped out and moved around to the back of the truck, looking through her stuff for a decent set of comfy clothes to change into. Mercedes was doing the same thing, taking the time to change when the guys were gone. Mostly Merle.

"So..." Lette said, looking at Mercedes. Though it had only been two days she felt like she could talk to Mercedes about most things. They were different in a lot of ways, sure. But they were similar where it counted. "Is Merle right?"

"Yeah," Mercedes said, laughing. It felt stupid to want to laugh but she did.

"Ugh, lucky," Lette said, throwing a shirt at Mercedes and laughing. "I haven't thought about that stuff in weeks - too busy keeping my ass safe."

"Same," Mercedes said, flashing back to the house where she'd crashed the night before finding Daryl in the woods. "It just kind of happened," she finished, smiling.

They started changing: a comfy, soft demin button-up and some yoga pants for Lette and a tight sweatshirt and jeans for Mercedes. They started straightening up the back of the truck in anticipation of the sleeping arrangements switching up. Neither really mentioned it - it was going to be an awkward situation for someone no matter how they sliced it so it was just better to think of it later.

Kane had settled down against a tire of the truck, snoring quietly from the days' adventures. The two girls sat down next to him when they were done straightening up, leaning their backs against either side of the huge tire and scratching Kane absentmindedly.

"I'm sorry I didn't warn you that Merle is such a dick - I don't even know him that well myself but for some reason he doesn't really bother me," Mercedes said.

"I know what you mean. I mean he's obviously an asshole but for some reason I can just brush it off my shoulders," Lette answered, nodding her head at Mercedes' words.

"He looks at you funny," Mercedes continued, the ghost of a smile on her lips.

"So you noticed it too? I don't know what to make of him," Lette said, though she knew exactly what Merle wanted. It was strange, worrying about all this petty stuff when just two days ago she'd been struggling for life. Now she was wondering what was going on between her and a man she barely knew.

"Do you like him?" Mercedes asked, framing the question innocently but really wondering.

"Erm...not in the sense that you like Daryl. I think Merle is too scatter-brained and stuck in his ways and Daryl is a little more realistic. Like, I couldn't see a relationship with Merle, you know? It'd be too much trouble. But..." she trailed off, pushing some of her hair behind her ears.

"Say no more, woman. I know what you're thinking and I say all the more power to you," Mercedes said, laughing. Maybe it would make Merle more managable - what a novel idea!

They both lapsed into their own thoughts then. Lette thought of Merle and what she wanted from him (even though she knew what she wanted but was having a hard time admitting outright) and Mercedes...

That day had been nice. And it hadn't just been the sex, though she wasn't gonna lie - that had been fantastic. She hadn't known what to expect but it'd been better than anything else she'd ever known and she thought she knew why: neither of them had been lying. There was nothing to hide, no ego to stroke. They were pushed to their base human instincts in this new world; everyone knew what the other person was capable of, their strengths and weaknesses, and perhaps it was easier to see the true person beneath the mask as they reverted to something more basic. There had been no need to play games, to tease, to flirt...they'd just fallen in. They'd laid out in the woods and taken each other like the wild animals they were and it had been violent, wild, perfect. She wouldn't have wanted tenderness from Daryl Dixon and he'd satisfied. Satisfied and beyond.

It was in those moments - at their most raw - that she could see how much he cared, how he made her needs paramount, how he'd taken care not to hurt the cut on her back, how his hands had gripped at her ribs. She felt her face warm at the memory. He didn't need to say it and that's perhaps why they worked - she didn't need his constant reassurance. His actions were enough. She wouldn't make him uncomfortable with sweet talk since it wasn't her style, though maybe one day, just to see his awkwardly hilarious response.

"Hey - let's make this shit," Daryl called, swinging his arms toward the fire Rick had started.

"What a neanderthal," Mercedes said, a tone of affection that Lette didn't miss laced in her voice.

* * *

><p>Dinner passed by quickly, a round of thanks going to Daryl, Mercedes, and Kane for all the meat. Mercedes was beginning to notice a more uniform appreciation of Daryl, something that made her smile. Maybe they were finally seeing past his prickly exterior.<p>

The meat they'd caught combined with some of Hershel's vegetables made sure that everyone had a good meal. Lette was especially greatful for all the food - she already noticed a little more flesh between her ribs.

By the time everyone was done and the dishes were cleared it was dark enough to justify bedtime - Mercedes was exhausted. What everyone had come to know as the Dixon Clan marched back to the truck, Mercedes dreading the coming conversation.

"So...since it's the four of us now how should we proceed as far as sleeping arrangements?" she began, figuring they might as well hash it out now before prolonging it any further. "I was thinking you guys could sleep in the bed of the truck and Lette and I could sleep in the cab because we're smaller and we could fit more comfortably," she suggested to Daryl and Merle.

The two looked at her like she'd just sprouted a second head and it looked like a walker's.

"What?" she exclaimed.

"I ain't no faggot," Merle said. "And I definitely ain't no faggot with my brother. He just ain't my type."

Mercedes had to stop herself from slapping her palm to her forehead.

"That is certainly not what I implied, but what would suggest then?"

"You and Daryl in the cab, me and Lette in the bed," Merle said, the last part of the sentence not losing it's gravity on him. Mercedes looked quickly to Lette, letting it be her decision.

"Fine with me," she said, surprising even herself.

"Sounds good then, at least for tonight. I'm sure someone's got a spare tent around here," Mercedes said, climbing into the truck and Daryl climbing in after her. Mercedes didn't think Merle would try anything funny with two people so close but then again...Lette might not be averse to the idea anyway. Oh god, Mercedes would throw something at them if she had to listen to anything.

Lette got into her sleeping bag, putting even her arms inside in an attempt to be completely nonchalant.

"You look like an idiot," Merle said, laying on top of his sleeping bag.

"What? Why?" Lette asked.

"You got your arms all in their - you look stupid," he answered.

"Are you really critiquing the way I lay in the sleeping bag?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yup," he answered simply, knowing somewhere in his hateful mind that he was getting closer to cracking her open. He liked her, liked the fire she tried to keep hidden. He'd see it. And when he did he'd reap the rewards. "Some day you'll see my charm Lette. I'm really a great guy." Again that wicked smile.

Lette just rolled her eyes and raised one hand out of the sleeping bag to give him the middle finger.

Her nights would be interesting now, regardless of it being the zombie apocalypse.

* * *

><p>Mercedes woke up before Daryl the next morning and smiled at his relaxed, slack-jawed face. The truck was an old Ford, and as such only had one wide seat for them to lay on. Her back was pressed up against the wall and Daryl was on his side as well. Somehow he'd managed not to fall off the seat but he assured her he'd spent many a night crashing in the truck.<p>

"Wake up, poophead," she said, squeezing his shoulder and making a face at him when he squinted in the morning light.

"Eh, fuck you," he said, but sat up and rolled his shoulders anyway. Merle and Lette were already up and being surprisingly civil. Lette seemed to be in the middle of telling an animated story that Merle actually looked interested in. Mercedes just smiled. She'd worried she'd wake up and find both of them punching the shit out of each other.

Everyone got dressed quickly, the smell of eggs clear on the air. Merle and Lette found their own seats among the group, Daryl plopping down in a dark green fold-up chair and Mercedes fitting herself between his legs on the ground.

Everyone was being very quiet. It wasn't unpleasant, but strange. Mercedes guessed they were all thinking that yesterday was just another day Sophia hadn't been found and today was even more important now. It was scary to think about and when Carol pushed eggs onto her plate she found them turning into rubber in her mouth.

Glenn got up then and Mercedes watched him wringing his hands together.

"Uh.." he began, and Mercedes raised an eyebrow.

"There are walkers in the barn," he said, rushing the words to get it over with.

No one said a thing. Mercedes dropped her fork on to her plate and she felt Daryl tense up. Lette stopped chewing.

Everyone put their things down and rushed over to the barn.

* * *

><p>Shane peered into the barn, the rest of the group listening to the agitated hissing from inside the building as the geeks inside caught sight of him. Shane turned around and stomped back towards the group.<p>

"You can NOT tell me you're okay with this," he said, directing it towards Rick but wondering about the rest of the group too.

"I'm not, but we're guests here. This isn't our land," Rick said, standing with his shoulders squared and speaking with conviction.

"This is our lives man!" Shane said, the anger turning up a notch in his voice. Mercedes planted her feet, getting ready for the situation to escalate. She could feel Daryl's muscles flexing when his arm brushed against hers.

"Lower your voice!" Glenn pleaded, keeping a wary eye on the barn.

"We can't just sweep this under the rug.."..."It ain't right, not remotely..." the group chimed in, all looking in disgust at the spectacle.

"We either gotta go in there and make things right, or we just gotta go. Look, we have been talkin' about Fort Benning for a long time -" Shane began, only to be cut off by Rick.

"We can't go!"

"Why Rick, why!" Shane countered.

"Because my daughter's still out there," Carol interjected, her arms crossed over her chest as if it would help her weather the situation. Shane opened his mouth to begin saying something but seemed to think better of it, stuttering into his hands as he tried to quell the frustration. Mercedes could feel aggression pouring off him in waves and she didn't like it at all.

"Look, I think it's time we start to consider the other possibilities -" he said, trying to even out his voice.

"We're not leaving Sophia behind," Rick said.

Daryl didn't seem to be able to hold himself back any longer.

"We're getting close to findin' this girl - I just found her damn doll a few days ago," he said, gesturing with his hands. Mercedes frowned. Whenever he used his hands a lot he was agitated beyond reason; nothing good could come out of it.

Then Shane laughed. Oh fuck, Shane laughed.

"You found her doll Daryl, that's what you did. You found a DOLL," Shane replied.

"Man...you don't know what the HELL you're talking about," Daryl replied angrily, swinging his arm to emphasize the words. Shit, shit, shit...Mercedes came closer to him, not feeling good about the situation at all. No one else did either, closing in in case something broke out.

Rick, ever level-headed, put his hand up and muttered "Alright, alright" trying to placate both parties.

"No, no! Let's say what needs to be said here! Now if you don't find a kid in the first forty-eight hours -" Shane was on a roll, yelling and pacing around the group.

"Shane! Shane!" Rick was trying desperately to quell his friend's anger when Shane turned to face Daryl. Mercedes stomach felt like it fell out of her.

"And let me tell you something else man," he began. She put a hand around Daryl's forearm to ease him down but she could feel his arms flexing, the pure rage on every line of his face. She'd never be able to hold him back when he was like this. Goddamnit Shane shut your fucking mouth! "If she were alive out there and she saw you comin', all methed out with your buckknife with geek ears around your neck SHE WOULD RUN IN THE OTHER DIRECTION MAN!"

Oh FUCK! FUUUCCKKK! He tore out of her grip, her fingernails taking skin as he went after Shane. "Stop! HEY, HEY! Stop, guys! FUCKIN' STOP IT!" she yelled, trying to get between the two rage-fueled men. The rest of the group helped, Rick putting himself between them and Lette grabbing on to Shane like Mercedes was holding Daryl. Glenn and Andrea helped both the girls seperate the men, holding their hands up.

"Let me talk to Hershel, let me figure it out," Rick said to Shane, trying his best to be reasonable and calm.

"Man, what are you gonna figure out?" he screamed, Lori putting her hand to his chest to stop his path towards Rick.

"If we're gonna stay, if we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into it. This is his land!" Rick said, his voice laced with anger for the first time.

"Hershel sees those things in there as people," Dale interjected, explaining. "Sick people. His wife, his step-son."

"You knew?" Rick questioned him.

"Yes, yesterday. I talked to Hershel," Dale said unapolegetically.

"And you waited the night?" Shane said, looking murderous.

"I thought we could survive one more night. We did," Dale said with a note of finality.

"Man is crazy Rick, if Hershel thinks those things are alive -" Shane again until -

The doors of the barn rattled, the walkers' hissing and moaning clear through the slats of wood. The screaming was riling them up and Mercedes saw Daryl's arm go up in front of her protectively.

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><p><strong>DUN DUN DUN! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter! I hope you had a lot of fun reading it.<strong>

**A note: it's obvious now that I'll be going Lette/Merle on this. It won't be a really romantic relationship because that's not Merle's style. But he'll definitely like being around her. And in her pants. :P **

**I know some people wanted to see it go Rick/OC so for those who were interested in that I've published a little side-story called "Dry Leaves" so feel free to check it out if you would have liked to see some Rick/Lette action. **

**Thank you so much to all my reviewers - you don't know how much I love getting your compliments and feedback. I love writing this story, and it's getting me through the mid-season break! BUT NOT MUCH LONGER, WE CAN DO IT! :D  
><strong>

**PM's have been sent out to all my reviewers, but to my anon's:**

**Sierra: Thanks! It's nice to hear from you again - I always get worried that my anon's won't know when I updated. I love hearing from everyone and it's nice to know you enjoyed the chapter. Yeah, I know sometimes when I'm eating an extra piece of chocolate or something my animal gives me the stink-eye so I figured Kane would definitely know something was up because he's smarter than your average dog. Also, thanks for the reassurance on the sex. I tried to satisfy everyone's sensibilities! Thanks again; it means a lot that you take the time out to find a new chapter. *heart***

**Leyshla: As you can see, fo' sho something between Merle and Lette. Also, I think the baby is Shane's too which is gonna be awkward. I guess they won't know until it gets a little older and its hair gets very dark or something but either way - ACK! lol! Also, I have a question for you if you wouldn't mind emailing me at kailrod92*gmail*com? It's a good question, don't worry! lol I had to make the "a" and "." a star because FF doesn't allow me to give out my email. It's also on my profile if you want to get it from there. Thanks for your review, as always!**


	10. Dead

**Author's Note: So hiiiiiiiiiii...**

**Yes - I think it's actually almost been an entire year since I've written anything for this story? I AM ASHAMED! lol**

**But seriously, I've missed writing this thing and hearing from all of you and while re-reading it I realized just how much of my heart I poured in to it! I had so much fun writing it and making up my own side stories and getting so attached to Daryl, Mercedes, Merle & Lette both as their own characters and as pairs! I'm looking forward to getting back in to my groove.**

**I plan on picking up exactly where I left off (no other way to do it really, right?!) but this time we have a lot more to work with and I have episode upon episode to expound upon! It's pretty exciting! **

**As always, I'm more than open to requests or opinions on where the story should go. This is for everyone reading, and all my faithful reviewers.**

**For those of you out there who reviewed regularly, I hope I get to hear from you if you're still lurking or get updates about They Say. I'd love to hear what you've all been up to. **

**For those of you who have just recently found my little story and added it to your alerts, I hope I get to hear from you too. I have a BLAST chatting with all of you and getting to know you guys and I actually made my best friend from writing this story - she was one of my reviewers and we got to talking and the rest is history! **

**Updates on me: I've been going to school still, though I took a semester off to work and kind of get my path straight. I've settled down now and I've actually come to like school in the last few months (big change from one of my author's notes a while ago about hating it right?!) and look forward to the challenges ahead of me. I lost 70 pounds. I'm still single (and loving it). I've made lots of good friends, had some amazing experiences, and kind of come in to myself really. What's been going on with all of you!?**

**Okay, long ass author's note over! You guys know how I am. :P LET'S BEGIN!**

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><p>She was't entirely sure how but some way between her, Andrea, and Lette (and absolutely no help from Merle who seemed to find the sight of his brother getting in to a fight more exciting than anything else) they'd managed to get Daryl &amp; Shane away from each other and venting their anger at other things. For Shane it was disappearing in to his tent to - Mercedes could only assume - clench his jaw angrily and flex his muscles. He'd been placated by the group when they agreed to his idea of a sentry outside the barn at all times to protect themselves while Rick worked things out with Hershel.<p>

Daryl however, was not so quiet in venting the rage Shane had managed to dredge up. Stomping back to the truck with Mercedes trailing slightly behind him didn't seem to get it out enough so instead he kicked at the truck while muttering thickly accented nonsense, Mercedes only able to pick up the tail ends of sentences laced with "asshole" and "no faith".

She didn't know what to say to him. No matter the breadth of her vocabulary she couldn't pull the things he needed to hear out of thin air. Could any one? Did any one around her - no, in what was left of this entire world - have the words to explain why this had to happen to any of them? It wasn't the first time she had been struck by a sense of helplessness but it was perhaps the worst.

"We need to go out," Daryl growled, suddenly comprehensible.

She understood where he was coming from. She knew the urge to find the girl even before Shane put pressure on the gas pedal, but she didn't agree in that instance.

"Daryl, we can't. You're not ready. It's only been two days and we were out "hunting" all day yesterday and I saw it took a toll on you," she answered quietly, knowing her rebuff wouldn't be welcome in the best of circumstances and trying not to rile him up with volume. It didn't seem to work.

"Why don't you stay here then if you're so keen to forget about Sophia?" he spat back, not bothering with another word as he went off in the direction of the barn, leaving her alone but not altogether confused. She'd known the dissenting opinion would bother him, and she'd expected the barbed retort. But it was still worrying to see him off to head out any way. It had only been a few days since he'd been hurt and he truly wasn't ready for an hours-long search despite his insistence to the contrary.

Biting her lip, she pushed off the truck and moved slowly towards the barn he'd gone towards in an attempt to convince him not to go.

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><p>"I don't get why we're supposed to give a shit that we're on the old man's property - I say we run in there and shoot 'em all, and then if he has a problem we shoot him too," Merle offered, popping back a Xanax and laying back on the seat of the truck, unhelpful as always.<p>

Lette - as always - just rolled her eyes in response.

"Because Merle, if we did everything the way you saw it most people would be dead," she retorted.

"Would that be so bad?" he replied, his usual Southern twang bowing out the "a" in his last syllable.

She didn't bother trying to explain the finer points of preserving one's humanity in the apocalypse for two reasons: one, she'd learned the hard way there was no use arguing with Merle. After a few heated debates that had left her wanting to tear out her hair she'd found the best way to deal with him was to just drop it. And two...she wasn't sure how much humanity had been in him before the walkers had shown up so maybe he just wouldn't get it anyway. Instead she just opted for another of her signature eye rolls and turned to leave, having agreed to meet Carol to do laundry. She knew the group wouldn't let Merle's lazy ways last for much longer but figured they just didn't have the time to deal with him yet.

"See you later sugar," he called out after her, not even noticing her parting wave in favor of the view of her ass. If he were to admit it, he'd say he was really starting to be okay with that girl who didn't take his shit.

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><p>Mercedes had crossed about half the distance between the truck and the barn when she almost ran straight in to Carol, somehow slowing her momentum enough to skirt around the woman.<p>

"Woah, Carol - sorry, I was barely watching where I was going," she said, sounding harried.

Carol, for her part, did a good job of holding on to the basket of laundry she was carrying and shook her head to wave off Mercedes' apology, too preoccupied with her own thoughts of the fight only half an hour ago to get flustered by a near collision.

"It's fine honey. Something wrong?"

Mercedes was slow to answer, unsure she wanted to share exactly what was going on with the mother of the girl Daryl was tied in to knots about. But then again...she was unsure it was a good idea NOT to share. Daryl was stubborn at best and now with the threat of moving on lurking behind his back she couldn't imagine he'd be anything less than pig-headed about finding Sophia. She wouldn't be able to stop him from going out and searching. In some perverse way, hearing it from her seemed to make it worse.

"I...uh...Daryl is trying to go out and look for Sophia. He's angry with me. I told him we can't leave just yet, not when he's been hurt. I know he doesn't really believe that I've given up on Sophia but he's mad anyway. I really haven't Carol - I want to go out and look just as badly as he does but he's not ready and I'm worried he's going to hurt himself out there," she answered, spilling her guts faster than she thought possible.

It was a moment before Carol responded. Her face seemed to be dancing around several emotions, all of them threatening to break her open. She could hear the sincerity in the girl's voice and wondered what had happened to her, what could make her so caring for a little girl she'd never met. But either way, between that and how Carol had come to care for Daryl after he found Sophia's doll...

"I'll go talk to him, alright? Take it from me - you didn't know my husband but I know better than any one that sometimes men don't like hearing what they know is right from their woman. You just take this laundry. Lette and I were supposed to meet up and do it together but I'm sure she'll like your company better," she answered, a surprisingly joking tone in her voice.

"Okay...okay, thanks," Mercedes replied, taking the basket and balancing it on her hip and under an arm as she watched the woman walk off towards the barn. Maybe she had the words Mercedes couldn't find - she hoped for all their sakes' she did.

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><p>Carol seemed to come in just at the right time as Daryl heaved a saddle on to the rack, every movement he made betraying just how NOT ready he was to go out and look for her daughter. In truth Carol often had her doubts about her daughter being alive though she kept them hidden and buried deep, not even wanting to admit them to herself - Daryl gave her hope that her daughter might still be alive and that might have been why raced over to stop him regardless of Mercedes' worries.<p>

"You can't!" she cried, speeding up in case he needed help.

"I'm fine," he grunted, not even bothering to look at her as he moved to pick up a halter.

"Hershel said you need to heal!"

"Yeah, I don't care," he answered, still not bothering to look at her as he went to the horse he intended on riding out.

"Well I do. Rick's going out later to follow the trail." She didn't bother to mention Mercedes. She figured that seemed obvious and had the smarts to know that Daryl probably wouldn't take kindly to being ganged up on.

"Yeah well, I ain't gonna sit around and do nothing."

"No, you're gonna go out there and get yourself hurt even worse," she retorted, crossing her arms over her chest. For some reason her own doubts about Sophia's survival chose just that moment to crop up as she watched him refusing to look at her. "We don't know if we're gonna find her Daryl. We don't...I don't."

She wasn't swayed when he finally stopped to look at her, his face a mask of barely disguised horror. Was every one but him giving up on Sophia? He pushed away the rational thought that Mercedes had never said such a thing, she'd just denied him the help for an admittedly legitimate reason. But in his anger he could see it no other way. He moved away from the horse, coming to stand in front of her.

"What?" he asked quietly, daring her to go on.

"I can't lose you too..." she admitted, telling the truth. He'd been so good to her, comforting her when she couldn't stop crying, giving her the Cherokee rose, never once giving up on her daughter. And she wouldn't be the only one to miss him. "What about Mercedes? Or Merle?"

He seemed to short-circuit when she said that, and went only deeper in to his shell when she mentioned others. He only blinked, reaching to plop the halter down next to her and, without a word, walk away. He didn't seem able to help himself however from a fit of anger as he reached forward and threw all his force in to shoving the saddle off the rack, finding some way to get out the frustration of being denied in all corners. The effort sent a bolt of pain through his side, forcing him to double over.

Carol ran to his side, holding out her hands in supplication, a gesture he immediately denied.

"Just leave me be!" Moving off, a hand still held up to his side though he seemed to get over the initial wave of pain, he muttered under his breath. "Stupid bitch..."

Stopped in her tracks Carol held back a line of tears from falling, the words cutting deeper than she ever thought they would.

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><p>"So, you managed to wrap Merle around your finger yet or what?" Mercedes teased, dragging clothes along the rack to get some of the grime out.<p>

"You think that any one could EVER get Merle wrapped around their finger?" Lette shot back, shaking her head and grinning. "Nah. And I wouldn't want that either - it's the fact that he's an asshole that I like him. I think we'll be friends eventually."

"Well, somebody needs to be able to get through that thick skull. Maybe you'll be able to knock some sense in to him. I'm worried about how he'll be once this group has to make choices. Sometimes I think he plays Devil's Advocate just to watch things burn to the ground," Mercedes opined.

Lette agreed whole-heartedly and worried if she couldn't actually strike up a friendship with Merle and make him see some sense. She was about to continue when Carol made her way over to the two of them, a stricken look on her face.

"Carol, what's wrong?" Lette asked, dropping the shirt she was hanging up to dry.

Carol shook her head, waving off Mercedes' concerned expression since she knew where Carol had just been.

"No, no, I'm fine. Daryl just didn't take too kindly to me saying I was worried about him going out. I managed to get him to go do something else and he left the barn, but not without some harsh words," she finished, looking to Mercedes.

There was no shortage of comfort from that corner.

"Don't worry about it Carol - he gets mean when he's confused about something. I'm sure someone telling him they were worried about him spooked him. The first time I tried to kiss him he called me a dumb bitch. What a charmer right?" Mercedes offered a smile, just trying to soothe the blow she was sure Daryl delivered.

"I was given a similar name," Carol replied, sitting down to help them, sniffling a bit but getting herself under control. She was surprised at just how badly the name had cut her. Mercedes waved off the insult, shaking her head.

"Seriously, he just doesn't know how to respond to people being nice to him. It's...sad, actually," she finished.

Just at that moment, the man in question came slowly towards the trio. He looked as if there was any where else in the world he'd rather be walking but kept coming any way, all trace of the anger he'd built up from the fight gone. His eyes went to Carol as he got close enough, waving her towards him.

"Carol...wanna show you something if you got a minute," he grumbled, barely audible.

With an eyebrow raised she nodded, getting up to follow him off but not before he looked to Mercedes and gave her what passed for a smile. It was a strange and awkward little twitch of his mouth but it was all she needed to know that all was forgotten. She gave him a little nod in return and watched him walk off with Carol.

"Those Dixons," Lette interjected as she watched them walk off as well. "Total babes, right?"

If there was any moment Mercedes was glad to have met Lette it was right then as she felt easy laughter bubble out of her, shaking her head and getting back to the laundry.

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><p>He led Carol to the edge of the property where a little pond lay. He'd seen more roses surrounding it while scouting one day and knew he'd come here if he ever needed more of them. But after hearing what Carol had said in that barn he knew she'd just have to come see them, growing and wild, to remind her that there was always hope until they had proof otherwise.<p>

It was a strange sentimentality in him that one wouldn't think fit in to the picture of Daryl Dixon, but did.

"You see 'em?" he asked as the bushes came in to view.

"See what?" Carol asked, sounding kind of exasperated with the whole walk. He had been quiet the whole time, and his curses in the barn hadn't been forgetten so easily.

He was still quiet as he walked over and pointed to the bush.

"I'll find her," he said, as if the growth of the flowers was proof in and of itself. He was silent as she looked at them, glancing uncomfortably at her and dragging an apology out of his mouth. He almost didn't know how, so unused to coming back to try to fix any damage he'd done. But it was important. These were the only people he had now, and he was angry it had taken that to teach him all these lessons. "Carol...I'm sorry about earlier."

She was quiet for a minute, still looking at the flowers.

"You wanted to find her. Why? This whole time I've just wanted to ask you," she finally said, looking up at him.

"I think she's still out there." It hit a little too close to home to be so honest and he found himself reverting to a bit of rudeness. "Truth is, what else I got to do?"

Carol narrowed her eyes slightly, confused at first by the sudden swing but starting to think she understood that that was just his way, stepping forward and pinching her fingers around a petal.

"We'll find her," she said quietly. "We will...I see it...", she said again, looking back at him.

And he could see that she actually believed it.

He almost smiled.

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><p>Somehow after laundry Mercedes and Lette found themselves in a tag-team game of chess with Carl. Maggie &amp; Glenn were sitting on the steps, Mercedes watching them out of the corner of her eye. To her surprise the two seemed to be getting along almost perfectly, bringing a smile to her face. Finally!<p>

Carol and Daryl had been gone for quite some time and though she wasn't worried, Mercedes was beginning to wonder just where they'd gotten off to.

And as if on cue T-Dog and Andrea came sauntering up together, in no particular hurry but nonetheless looking kind of concerned.

"You know what's going on?" T-Dog asked, almost immediately followed by a query from Andrea.

"Where is everyone?"

Glenn, on his way to get his hat when Maggie offered to wash it after a particular incident with an egg earlier in the day, stopped in his tracks, a slight pang of worry snaking up from his stomach at their questions. "You haven't seen Rick?"

"He went off with Hershel. We were supposed to leave a couple hours ago," Andrea supplied, setting Mercedes full of worry too. At least one of her fears was relieved however when Daryl and Carol came on the scene.

"Yeah you were - what the hell?" Daryl asked, his usual amount of tact in place.

"He never told us he was going out," Carol added, picking up her pace to keep up with Daryl's long strides.

Mercedes and Lette, as if of one mind, got up at the same time to move over to the steps, hopping down and joining the rapidly gathering group trying to figure out where the hell their leader was. It wasn't like Rick to just go off without a word and Mercedes felt a deeper and darker pit of worry coiling in her insides.

Daryl seemed to be back to his usual casually irritated self, swinging his arms to emphasize his point as was his way. "Damnit, isn't any one taking this seriously?! We got a damn trail!"

At the moment he turned to point towards said trail however, Shane was coming up the path. He seemed determined about something at least and Daryl could at least respect that, trying to put the morning behind him. "Here we go..." His interest however soon turned to confusion when he saw the bags of guns strapped over Shane's shoulder, doubting Hershel knew anything about this move. "What's all this?"

"You with me man?" Shane asked, holding up a gun for Daryl. It didn't seem there was a moment's hesitation on Daryl's part, something that didn't pass Mercedes' notice as Shane moved towards the house. "You already got yours?" Shane barked at Andrea.

"Yeah...uh, where's Dale?" Andrea asked, voicing a concern that had somehow not even crossed Mercedes' mind yet, feeling utterly lost as she moved to stand with Daryl.

Lette looked over just in time to see Merle making his way over the hill, moving to stand with his brother as well.

"Oh yeah, where's the old geezer? Seems like that's just what we need for whatever is about to go down," the drugged-up man added, a jibe that everyone collectively ignored.

"He's on his way," Shane said, brushing off the question.

"I thought we couldn't carry," T-Dog said, giving Shane a look of suspicion that mirrored the growing apprehension lingering in Mercedes' gut. Shane was a timebomb, one she thought had finally found the right flame to light the fuse. There was a look in his eyes that she couldn't get past and she wondered if Daryl saw it too. He was entirely eager to take up a gun.

"Yeah well, we can and we have to. Now look it was one thing standing around picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe, but now we know it ain't! How about you man, you gonna protect yours?" There was an intensity to Shane as he handed the gun to Glenn that set Mercedes teeth on edge, his use of muscle in the face of Glenn's obvious confused ties with Maggie making her clench her fists in anger. But Glenn took it anyway, ticking something in Mercedes. She knew. She knew it was right but she didn't want to accept that in an instant things were going to change.

She was going to uproot all the relative happiness she had found in the simple act of placing her fingers around the barrel of a rifle.

Shane looked to Maggie.

"Can you shoot?"

"Can you stop!?" she snapped back. "You do this, you hand out these guns, my Dad will make you leave tonight!"

"We have to stay Shane!" Even Carl chimed in, making Mercedes head spin with opinion.

"We're not going anywhere. Now look, Hershel...he's just gonna have to understand! We have to find Sophia, am I right?" Shane knelt in front of Carl, the boy's face a mask of confusion, torn between following the words of a man he trusted and the fear that every one would have to pack up and move again. "You take this Carl, you take this and you do whatever it takes to keep your Mother safe. You know how, now take it," Shane ordered, tilting his head in a way that bothered Mercedes on a level she couldn't explain.

Lori stepped forward then, pushing Carl out of the way. "Rick said no guns - this is not your call, this is not your decision to make!"

Mercedes was sure it was right then she snapped but she was wrong - it was when T-Dog let out a curse and drew their attention to Rick walking out of the woods with a walker on a catchpole that she snapped. She looked up at Daryl then, all of the hours before when they'd argued and bitched forgotten - she was scared, and she could see on his face that he wasn't so sure about the entire situation either. He took his eyes off the scene for just one second to look down at her, his expression saying everything he didn't have to.

After today...nothing was going to be the same.

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><p><strong>So I come back and leave you a chapter that's mostly fluff?! I know, I know - it's all build-up. But we have to! Because you all know what happens next time!<strong>

**Sophia! :( It's gonna be so sad, but a blast to write. Sophia, we learn Mercedes' past, Merle & Lette stuff. Oh, it's going to be GOOD! I hope you all enjoyed it even though it was stuffing for the meaty bits next time. I'm going to give it a few days and then I'll have the next installment up!**

**Please feel free to leave me reviews, and send me PM's! I love to hear from you guys. Thanks as always, and I hope every one is well!**


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